Test subject Alpha
by Fictionlover28
Summary: How far would Shield be willing to go for what they thought was right? Would they sacrifice a girl's life just to prove a point? These are questions that Violet ends up experiencing first-hand. Captured and trapped inside S.H.I.E.L.D, a dangerous experiment flowing through her veins, who can Violet truly rely on to save her from near certain death? UNDER DEVELOPMENT
1. How did this happen?

**AN: This is ****one of my first stories. I welcome all reviews and suggestions. I may even take recommendations as to what to put in the next chapter. As always, thank you for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers or any characters, plot twists, settings, etc. All I have is Violet.**

I looked at my surroundings, still astounded how I ended up in the situation. Not even 24 hours ago I had been a normal girl, normal school, normal life. The dimly lit hallways of my school that I was so used to seeing had been replaced with the glaringly bright lights of S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. I had come home to find two men waiting for me in the driveway, a black SUV parked behind them and my mother sobbing hysterically between them.

I raced to her side, saying "Mom...Mom, look at me. What's wrong?" She had only been able to choke out one thing between her sobs.

"I'm so sorry, Violet. I love you, and I hope you can forgive me ."

I tried to coax more out of her, but the two men grabbed my arms, restraining me, saying "It's time to go, Miss Unari." I yelled and shrieked as loud as I could, demanding that they take me back to my Mom. They only responded by shoving me into the car, and I felt a slight jolt in my neck before the world turned black around me.

I woke up in a glaringly bright white room. I panicked, shouting and screaming once again, and I am even ashamed to admit that I pleaded and begged for the people I could not see to release me. I proceeded to sink to the floor and cry so hard I was left shaking. For what felt like hours I sat in that same position, alone in my thoughts, guessing what could have gotten me into so much trouble. I could think of nothing; I was just as ordinary as everyone else. I followed fashion trends, I wore my makeup the same way, I did my work like I was supposed too, and I even managed to stay on honor roll. _  
_

_'What did I do to deserve this?' _I thought, and as I considered it over again, a panel in the wall slid open, revealing a door that had been previously hidden. Two men stepped into the room, but they were not the same men from before. One of them was dressed in a black trench, turtle neck, and combat boots. He had an eye patch over one eye, and while I normally would have made so many a bald jokes, the icy one-eyed glare he sent me and the gun strapped to his hip were powerful deterents. The other man was similarly dressed. He wore a black vest like top and black cargo pants, but his skin was tan when the other man's was dark and his shirt showed off his toned arms. He was clearly supposed to be the muscle. His brown hair was cut in a practical way, out of his eyes, which stared me down in an unreadable expression. I felt like a bug under a magnifying glass, the way they were watching me.

"Sit", the eyepatch man said, gesturing to a white table and chairs in the center of the room. His voice, deep and commanding, astounded me with how emotionless he sounded. I still wasn't certain that they weren't going to kill me, so I stood up and sat in the chair farthest away from them. Eyepatch man sat in the chair opposite me, and Muscles stood broodingly in the corner.

"I am Director Fury, this is Agent Barton", Eyepatch man introduced himself and Muscles.

"I'm Violet Unari", I said , trying to be civil.

"I know who you are", Director Fury said, and from within his coat he took out a thin file. He set it down on the table and flipped it open. On the inside was a sheet with words I couldn't read upside down, and a picture of a baby. I stared at the picture, my stomach jolting in a twist of recognition.

"That's...me", I said aloud, the truth of what I said still not processing in my mind.

"Yes. Violet Maria Unari, aka Test subject Alpha. Age: 15. Appearance: Brown hair, shoulder length, green eyes, 5'10." Director Fury listed my description off the sheet with cool detachment. He flipped to the next page, and read again. "Name: Violet (undetermined) Unari, aka test subject Alpha." He stared at me pointedly when he said this. "Age: 6 months. Purpose: genetic research. Subject displays potential for project Bind. Parental consent has been provided. Testing shall begin immediately." Apparently satisfied he had said enough, Director Fury stopped reading and stared me down, taking in my reaction to his words.

"What the hell?!" I exclaimed, none of that making sense to me. "What is that even supposed to mean to me? I've never even heard of project Bind or test subject Alpha or whatever else is in that damned file of yours!" I was practically screaming, again, at this point, but Director Fury only sighed like I was being a stubborn child.

"Director, may I?" Agent Barton spoke up.

"Be my guest", Director Fury said, giving Agent Barton his seat.

"Violet, fifteen years ago, S.H.I.E.L.D was working on a project. We believed it could change many lives and lead to the benefit of society." I rolled my eyes at this. Of course they would use some kind of stereotypical explanation to justify what this. Agent Barton glared at me before resuming his story. "Anyway, as it was being tested, project Bind as it was known, encountered a slight drawback. It required a very specific DNA code to be activated. Something about the test subject requiring abnormally strong DNA. S.H.I.E.L.D looked all over the globe for people who had the right code, and we could only find you. You were six months old at the time. Your biological Mother was in a bad financial situation, so S.H.I.E.L.D payed her a large sum of money to let us experiment on you, trying to determine what made your DNA special and what effects project Bind would have on your development. Your Mom also signed an agreement that let her take you home to live a normal childhood, but fifteen years later, when the effects of the experiment would begin to show, S.H.I.E.L.D would be given legal custody of you to complete the test and resume experimentation." Agent Barton looked at me with an expression bordering on pity; I hated it. "Today is exactly fifteen years after the first testing was commenced, so welcome to your new home."

I couldn't think clearly at this point. My head was swimming with what I had just been told. Not only was I being wrenched away from my Mother and the life I had known for as long as I could remember, but I was expected to live here and be their lab rat. And my Mom had known. She had known for fifteen years and had never breathed a word about it to me.

"No way in hell!" I screamed, my first reaction being anger. " I would rather die before I willingly let you people make me some kind of freak experiment.I will not be your lab rat!" I hid my secondary reaction, fear and shock, as best I could, but I could tell that neither of them were fooled by my show of defiance. Director Fury stared me down.

"You don't have a choice." He said, and with that, Agent Barton, quick as a whip, lunged across the table and knocked out.

**So what did you think? I am hoping to continue the story based on what you think. Please don't hate me for leaving it on a cliffhanger. Feel free to review or PM me with comments, notes, suggestions, etc. I welcome all of it.**


	2. The Breakout

**AN: I am so glad that people enjoyed the first chapter. Over one hundred views, yeah! I would also like to send out a special thank-you to Faded Stripe, who sent me a very encouraging review. I will attempt to post a new chapter each week, but I give no promises because you never know what may come up. Anyway, in this chapter, we begin to learn just what shield did to Violet. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own shield, Hawkeye, black widow, or any of the avengers or characters in the Marvel universe. Only Violet is mine. Hands off!**

I woke in the white room yet again, my head pounding. The table and chairs, and my backpack, had been taken. The only thing I found familiar were the clothes I was wearing. I was assuming I had been asleep for a few hours. Time didn't seem to be passing in the room. No clock, I didn't have a watch, and everything was bright, no sign of nighttime. Even if it was dark I couldn't sleep. Too much had happened. My hands automatically reached for the chain around my neck, a nervous habit I had developed. I pulled out the locket from where it was tucked into my shirt. The tarnished metal sat comfortably in my palm. I flicked open the clasp, revealing two pictures on the inside, one on each wing. The first picture was one of my Mom, a huge smile on her face, caught in the middle of a laugh. The picture had been taken on the day that she had taken me out of school early as a surprise, and we had gone to the state fair and ridden roller coasters all day. We had just gotten off of the bumper cars, we had shared a car, and I was such a terrible driver that I had bumped into every wall and other driver that had gotten in my way. She had been so relieved to get out of the car that she had started laughing like a maniac. That's when I took that picture, to keep the memory of us being perfectly happy. The other picture was of our house, and my Mom holding me as a baby in front of it. That was the day she had brought me home from the hospital, or so I believed. I always thought of that day as when our family began. I was an only child with no father to speak of. We had made a family with just us and the various animals I talked her into adopting. It wasn't much, but it was home. These pictures reminded me that I had a life and family outside these walls, one that was waiting for me to escape. At the very least I needed to hear, from my Mom's own lips, how she could have let this happen. Closing the locket with a snap, I tucked it back inside my shirt and stood up. I paced around the cell. I knew the only way to get out of here was to figure out how to open that door, and I couldn't figure that out without seeing someone else leave.

Gazing around the room, I yelled "Hey, unless you want your precious experiment to starve, I would suggest you get some food in here. I would do it myself, but you seem to want to keep me in this damn cell." Content that I made my point, I sat back down in a corner and waited. Not even 10 minutes later, or I guessed ten minutes, the door slid open and a woman slipped in, carrying a tray. She sat cross-legged on the floor in front of me, and set the tray between us. I hadn't been entirely lying when I said I was hungry, and the sight of food made me ravenous. There was a glass of water, some cut vegetables, and a ham sandwich. Basic food, but I tucked in anyway, very hungry considering I had no idea how long it had been since I last ate. As I munched on the sandwich, I studied the woman in front of me. She had vibrant red hair, pale skin, haunting eyes that were cold and calculating, and a curvy body dressed in a black catsuit. She seemed poised to attack, even when she was sitting. She was beautiful. I envied her curves, never liking my body. I was too skinny, kind of flat, very pale, and my hair had always been too limp to be pretty and too thick to hold a curl. The only thing I liked about myself were my eyes. They had always been my most attractive feature. A bright, vibrant green that always seemed to twinkle with mischief and humor.

"What's your name?" I asked the woman. She didn't look at me as she spoke.

"Agent Romanoff". She replied in a monotone voice.

I smiled slightly."That's kind of funny. I met a man earlier with the same first name, Agent." Sure,I was being a little sarcastic, but I was done with my food and dead bored.

For a moment I thought I saw a smile flit across Agent's face. "Natasha. My real first name is Natasha." I let a small smirk creep onto my face.

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" I replied. She threw me a look that could have frozen a volcano. I pushed past it."Well, you probably already know this, but my name is Violet, though my friends call me Vi."

She continued staring across the room. "I'm not your friend." Natasha said, and I wasn't surprised.

"I wouldn't want you to be. Who would want to be friends with their kidnappers and potential killers?"

She stared at me intsntly as I said this. "I'm not going to kill you, and neither is anyone else here, so long as you do as you're told. Follow the rules, obey Director Fury, put up with a little poking and prodding in the lab, and you'll be just fine." She said all this with cool disinterest. I did my best to hide my growing anger. Natasha, apparently done speaking, picked up the dishes and walked to the door. She tapped a panel on the wall and it slid open. She typed in something I couldn't see, and the door swished open.

As soon as the door closed behind her, I screeched "No way in hell am I staying here!". I stood quickly, walking over to the wall. I tapped the same panel, and it slid open. Inside was a touchscreen keypad. It blinked, indicating I needed to enter the code within 90 seconds, or security would be notified. Smiling, I kneeled down, angling my head so the light would reflect off the panel. I was counting on the natural oils in Natasha's fingers to have left residue. Using the light, I could see the residue on the screen. There was a series of numbers and letters she had tapped. I considered it in my head. The first part was easy to figure out, it was her last name. The tricky part would be figuring out the series of numbers. There was 7, 4, 2, 0, and 5. All I could do was guess. Holding my breath and holding my locket chain, I tapped in 02457. The second I pressed enter, I waited for an alarm to go off.

It didn't.

The door slid open into a white hallway, and it forked to the left and right in front of me. I paused a moment. I heard voices coming from the right hallway, so I went down the left one. I stepped as silently as I could, checking behind me now and then to make sure no one had spotted me. The walls next to me were lined with doors, and I could hear muffled chatter from inside them. I waited until I reached a door where there was no noise inside, and I pushed against it slightly. The door suddenly slid open, and a tall man stepped out. He was wearing a white shirt and khakis. His shirt had some sort of icon on it, but my attention was on his face. He had perfect skin, shining blue eyes,and short dirty blonde hair. He was gorgeous. I instantly chastised myself for getting distracted by his pretty face and not running away.

"Are you alright Miss?" He asked, and it was enough to shock me out of my stupor. I ran. I had no clue where I was going, just that I had to get out. I heard running behind me, and glanced back to see the man running after me, gaining fast. I put everything I had into sprinting, I saw faces fly past me, but I didn't care. I saw a flash of light coming up, and a window appeared to my left. I paused and looked out, then froze in horror. I was at least thirty floors up, and how the hell did I get from Virginia to New York?! Horrified, I didn't notice the man catch up to me, too lost in my thoughts to care or try getting away. He came up behind me, and grabbed my atm roughly. "Miss, I don't know who you are, but I will have to ask you to leave. This is a secure area."

My head snapped back. "So, I need to be escorted out?" I asked, realising this was exactly what I needed. He nodded, and I followed his lead for about ten seconds before a voice sounded behind me. An uninvitingly familiar voice.

"Captain, stop that girl" Director Fury called. I spun around, and he was quickly walking toward me and the pretty man, Captain. I raised my hands into a basic defensive pose. They weren't getting me back in that cell without a fight.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, and suddenly a wave of blue flew from my body, knocking Director Fury and Captain to the floor. I fell to the floor as well, but not from the energy. I couldn't process what was going on. "What did you do to me?" I whispered before the world faded around me.

**So have you figured out what SHIELD did to Violet yet? Sorry for leaving it on a cliffhanger, again. Please send me reviews or PM messages about what you think and/or any ideas you may have for upcoming chapters. I welcome helpful criticism as well.**


	3. Decline

**Holy** **Crow! ****Had a serious backfire in the story when trying to update some spelling errors. To anyone who saw that, I will now go crawl in a hole. I would if I could, but I don't think they have wifi in holes ;) Anyway, here is chapter three. It will be shorter and told from Captain America's point of view. This is just a filler for a new twist I have planned, so it will be a bit shorter and kind of dull. But I promise I will post a better chapter soon. The next one is already in the works.  
**

**Disclaimer: Nothing Avengers or Captain America is mine. That would make me too awesome.**

Steve had seen many strange things in his time at S.H.I.E.L.D. Some were too wierd to describe, one of them was his colleague in the form of Doctor Banner. However, a girl shooting out blue energy from her body was a new oddity in and of itself. She had seemed harmless enough, just a kid who had managed to worm her way into somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. Classic teen behavior. That is until she let out a force so powerful it knocked him off his feet. He didn't question Director Fury as the girl was dragged away by two security personnel. What did catch his attention was when Fury began to refer to her as 'Test Subject Alpha'. He had only heard that project mentioned once before, and he had been under the impression that the project was scrapped due to its being too dangerous. Steve voiced this to Director Fury. Letting out a deep sigh, Fury said "Follow me." Turning on his heel, he led Steve down a hallway to an empty conference room.

Locking the door behind them, Fury said "What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room." Steve nodded his assent, his interest well and truly sparked. "Years ago, the idea was presented that one day the tesseract may not be on Earth anymore, that it may be taken away by its original owners. Thor and Loki turned out to be proof of that. It was decided that S.H.I.E.L.D needed to find a way to guarantee we had a back up plan in case of that. Test Subject Alpha was that plan. We figured that the tesseract owners would never think to check organic tissue for pieces of the tessuract if we made the pieces small enough. A painstaking process began, in which a small pea-sized part of the tesseract was removed and placed inside someone. That girl you met earlier, we placed the piece of tesseract inside of her heart when she was a baby. S.H.I.E.L.D thought that once she had matured, and a decent amount of time had passed that the Asgardians would no longer be focused on Earth, we could remove the tesseract from her heart and continue research, should it prove necessary. I thought this was a bad idea from the start. We don't know what the tesseract is really capable of, so when the Council proposed the idea, I told them to go ahead and see what would happen. I thought I could prove them wrong by not putting a stop to the project and watching it fail." Here Fury took a deep breath, his brow furrowing. "I shouldn't have been so blind. Now an innocent girl's life is at stake because I wanted to prove the Council wrong." Facing Steve again, Fury revealed the truth. "The piece of tesseract has bonded with Test Subject Alpha's cellular structure, and it is breaking down her molecular density. Today was just one example of what will happen when the full effects of the radiation take a hold of her. She will become a being of pure energy, no physical form, unstoppable and indestructible. Her body just can't handle the tesseract, and we can't remove it because her heart has grown around it. Removing the piece would kill her." Fury stopped talking here, lost in thought. Steve digested his words. Even though he had no personal ties to the girl, he could feel for her. Her life had been stripped away and she was slowly dying, and she had no control over it.

Then, a thought occurred to Steve. "Is there any way to alter her body to accommodate the energy?"

Fury stared Steve down. "If there was, it would have been thought of already."

But Steve was already thinking ahead. "Hold on, we know that on Asgard, the tesseract's home, everything is a combination of science and magic. The same could be said for the Asgardians themselves. They have an abnormal life span, which is partly genetic and partly science. And Asgardians can wield magic, so their bodies have adapted to allow for certain levels of radiation that magic would cause. When Thor first arrived on Earth, samples were taken of his blood and tissue when he was admitted into the hospital. Could those samples be used to isolate Thor's genetic structure and bond it with Test Subject Alpha's? Theoretically, if it worked, her body would take on traits of Thor's, like his Asgardian defense against radiation. It could save her."

Fury paused, considering Steve's idea. "Even if it did work, Thor is a fully grown adult. It could change her body to that of an adults, potentially taking away years of her life. Also, she could never go back to her old life again, if she survives."

Steve argued back "But don't you think she would rather have a few years taken away then her whole life? And there was never any chance of her going back to her old life, was there?" Fury nodded in response, acknowledging the truth in Steve's words.

Reaching up to his ear, Fury opened up a communication. "Get a message to the science labs. We need them to begin analyzing the samples from Thor. I will be arriving shortly with Captain Rogers. We have work to do."

**ooooo. What's going to happen? Will Violet survive? If she does, what changes will her body go through? PM or review. I want to know what you thought.**


	4. Brave New World

**Okay, so this chapter will once again be from Violet's perspective. Time to see what happened with Steve's plan. Anyone else excited?**

**Special shout out to my faithful guest reader Jo, who has sent me very encouraging reviews for the past few chapters, and to my Dad who is very supportive of my writing. It means the world to me. Thanks for your enjoyment in Violet's misfortunes ;)**

**I have very little idea of what should come after this chapter, I'm sure I'll think of something, but if anyone wants to send me ideas, I would not be opposed. Enough about me, on to Violet.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Nick Fury, Thor, or any other character in this story. Except Violet, she's all mine!**

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I hurt. Every muscle in my body was screaming at me as I tried to sit up. That's when I looked beyond the pain and saw myself, really saw myself. My skin was still pale, but rippled with muscles, and where I had scars before from my clumsiness there was only flawless skin. I leaned forward to inspect myself and a lock of blonde hair fell forward. I was scared. I didn't recognize my body. I was still in my cell, but I noticed someone had placed a full length mirror in the corner. Rising slowly, I approached the mirror. At the same time, a woman mirrored my actions on the surface. I raised my hand and waved, the woman did the same. I stood on one foot, she did as well. I observed the woman. She was tall, flawless pale skin, well-defined muscles lingered under her skin. She was wearing the same clothes as me, but they were a little too small on her form. Her torso was well-defined, abs rippled across her stomach, and where I was flat she was shapely. Her face was beautiful. She had a natural pink glow in her cheeks, her lips were plump and inviting, and her eyes were piercing green, almost luminescent. Her hair fell down in soft waves; it was a soft blonde with streaks of brown running through it, almost like she had dyed strands brown. The effect was not chaotic, but gave her a touch of elegance and mystery. The woman was beautiful. I couldn't understand how she could be my reflection. I was 15, the woman in the mirror was at least in her early twenties. "What is going on?" I thought aloud, and the woman spoke the same words. But it wasn't my voice that issued the words. The voice was soft and melodic, almost like singing, but not quite. It couldn't be my voice.

The door to the cell hissed open, and a person I did not recognize stood in the doorway. "Follow me", he said, and turned on his heel, leading me out of the cell; I followed mutely. I took in my surroundings, not having the chance to observe everything during my escape attempt earlier. That thought brought a new question to the front of my mind. Why would they be letting me out of my cell so soon after my escape attempt. For all they cared, I was a loose cannon who had to be kept in a cage.

Even in my head, the word cage was spat out like a curse. I didn't have claustrophobia, but i didn't like staying in one place too long. I was always moving, like the Energizer Bunny. As I was thinking, we passed along the same hallway I had tried to escape through. Around a corner, Captain stood beside a big door I hadn't noticed before. It was twice the size of the other doors in that hallway, and it had simple black lettering on it. 'Nick Fury-Director.' I smiled when I read this, thinking of the childish insults I could rhyme Fury's first name with.

Captain was staring at me as I approached. He clearly was as new to my appearence as I was. He was openly staring at me. "Agent Coulson" Captain greeted.

The man who I had been following replied with a simple "Captain Rogers." I mentally noted both their names for later use. The door whooshed open next to Captain Rogers and Director Fury stood in the doorway. He gestured for us to come inside. My heart began to pound. Here I was, surrounded by three very strong, very intimidating men, and they were all eyeing me warily.

'Oh my gosh. They're going to kill me. That's the only reason they would take me out of the cell.' The thought ran through my head, and I was almost hysterical with worry, not that I let them see it. I couldn't think clearly, couldn't consider the fact that they might not want me dead. I had watched way to many spy movies.

I followed Agent Coulson into the room, my heart fluttering nervously. I sat down on a hard metal chair, rather like the one that had been in my cell. Director Fury sat behind the desk I was facing. Captain Rogers and Agent Coulson stood by the door. This was eerily familiar. The last time I had been in a setting like this was when Director Fury told me I was a freak experiment and turned my world inside out. I didn't know if my sanity could handle another bomb like that.

"Violet," Director Fury said, and this caught my attention immediately. He had never used my real name before. It was more than a little unnerving. "I'm sure you have already noticed your new appearance. Captain Rogers had the idea to put a mirror in your room." I snorted in amusement. The place where they were keeping me prisoner was referred to as 'my room'. That almost made it sound like they expected this to be home for me. Ignoring my amusement, Fury continued. "You were informed earlier of the fact that you were part of an experiment called Project Bind." I nodded. "And you were not made aware of what the purpose of the project was." Again, I nodded. Then I froze in horror as he explained to me exactly what Project Bind was. He explained how it had been killing me, how it was his fault, and he explained Captain Rogers' idea. I listened to how he and Captain Rogers had isolated Thor's genetic structure, how they gave me a sedative that made me fall into a deep sleep, how they bonded Thor's DNA to mine in an attempt to reverse the effects of the radiation. Captain Rogers broke into the conversation and described how as soon as the bonding was complete, my body began to change. For every hour that I was asleep after the bonding, my body aged about a year. After eight hours, the aging stopped. I now had the body of a 23 year old, and my appearance and physique had changed to resemble that of an Asgardian. Beyond that, the radiation seemed to be contained, but they did not know how I had changed otherwise.

I stared at my hands as I absorbed all of this. I was grateful that I was no longer dying, even if it was their fault in the first place. One thing out of all this was glaringly apparent to me. I could not escape anymore. Even if I somehow managed to, there was nowhere for me to go. I still had the mentality of a 15-year-old, so I couldn't find a job, and my Mom would no longer recognize me if I sought her out. I was out of options, I had to stay.

"So what are you going to do with me?" I asked in a tired voice, not bothering to marvel at the strange quality of my new voice. Director Fury looked me dead in the eye as he spoke his next words. "I think you should finish your education here at S.H.I.E.L.D, and during that time, I want you to enter the training program. Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D, Agent."

**Review!**


	5. Meet and Greet

**AN: For this chapter I would like to thank one of my readers for asking me a question in their review. Your question knocked me out of a serious case of writer's block. As you read the story, you will know who you are. Thanks.**

**Oh, just a heads up, Violet meets some of the other Avengers in this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers, Hawkeye, or anything Marvel. Violet is mine.**

Agent Violet Unari. I turned the title over in my head. It had a nice ring to it. Then I laughed. My laughter was different from before, but I didn't care. I was hysterical. I stood up suddenly from my seat, knocking over the chair. I could feel Director Fury's eyes on me as I paced in front of his desk. "This is insane. You tell me I'm dying, now I'm not dying, I have no way home, I'm eight years older physically, I have a god's DNA in my body causing God knows how much change, and you expect me to play nice and work for you." At this I stopped pacing. I faced Fury and slammed my hands down on his desk, palms smacking the surface. I leaned over, my face inches from his. I sensed the two men behind me reach for their weapons, and Fury stiffened. "You can force me to stay here, you can chain me in that damn cage for the rest of my life, but I will never work for you. You can't just screw with my life and expect me to go with it. I will never stop trying to escape, never stop trying to go home. You wanted an experiment, dick? Well let's test how much shit you can put up with from me and this wonderful new body you gave me."

My rant finished, I stood back up, pulling away from Fury. His face showed no sign that my speech had affected him, but I saw a slight flicker of his eyes. Pulling himself together, Fury said calmly "You're classes begin at 1300 hours today. 0600 tomorrow. Captain Rogers will escort you to and from your classes. He will also be your hand to hand instructor. I will check on your progress in three weeks." Checking the time, he added, "It is 1200 hours now. Get lunch and prepare for training." He turned back to some papers on his desk. I was hungry, so I decided to go with the plan, for now. I turned to Captain Rogers, waiting to be shown where to go. I could tell he was not thrilled to be my personal babysitter. His face wore an expression that conveyed horror and disgust. I didn't feel any different.

"So are you going to show me where to go or not?", I said, putting as much sass as I could into the question. Just because he was less than happy to follow me around didn't mean I would make it easy on him. Without saying a word Captain Rogers walked out of the room. I trailed behind him like a lost puppy dog. He led me through a series of hallways that each looked the same. I didn't even bother trying to remember where he led me. Eventually we entered a large room, roughly the size of a basketball court. Tables populated the majority of the floor space, running in rows across the room. At the end of the room was a large counter where a dozen or so people were passing out pre-packaged food to a large line running the circumference of the room. There were easily a hundred people in line, and many were already sitting down at the tables. There was a slight buzz of conversation, hanging like a cloud over the people. They were all clearly S.H.I.E.L.D employees. I had never realised there were so many. Instead of voicing this thought, I said "Well at least school lunches aren't that different. The people are just older." Captain Rogers shot me a glare.

A voice called out "Steve! Come and join us!" The voice originated from a tight-knit group of people huddled around one of the center tables. A man with black hair and a naturally cocky grin was gesturing towards Captain Rogers. Apparently ignoring my presence, Captain Rogers strode over to the man who had yelled to him. Not knowing what else to do, I followed. He walked in long strides towards the people he was clearly eager to see. As we neared, I recognized some of the people. Natasha and Agent Barton were there, as well as two men I did n't know and a blonde woman who was furiously typing on an iPad.

Captain Rogers greeted the loud man first. "Stark, what are you doing here? And with Ms Potts too. I didn't know she had clearance to be here." The man called Stark smirked in reply. "Great to see you to, Capsicle. Pepper is accompanying me on a visit to Fury. Apparently there is some tech he wants me and Banner to check out, and I brought her along for the ride." The man was clearly referring to the blonde woman as Pepper, and Banner was one of the two men, but I couldn't tell which. Captain Rogers winced slightly at the nickname, but he still looked happier now that he wasn't focused on me. Unfortunately, that's when Stark noticed me.

"Steve, who's your shadow?" Captain Rogers, Steve, sighed so quietly I could only hear because I was close to him. "She's no one, Stark. Just a kid I have to look after. Fury's orders." That annoyed me. Steve said that as if it was such a burden to have me around. Like it was my choice to even be here. "Come on, Steve, don't be shy. Introduce the girl." , Stark said.

Before Captain Rogers could reply, I stepped out from behind him. Smirking, I said "Steve here," I patted Captain Roger's arm, "Just doesn't like that he's my personal babysitter. Personally, I think Fury would be better company. All Steve does is scowl when I'm around."

At this, Stark guffawed. "Well, any person who can annoy the good Cap here is a friend of mine." Reaching out his hand, he said "Tony Stark."

I grasped his hand in a firm handshake. "Violet Unari. It's nice to meet you." Tony gestured for Steve and I to sit down. I took the seat between the two of them, Tony on my left, Steve on my left. "You're Iron Man, right?" I asked Tony. I recognized him from the Battle of New York. I had watched on TV when it was going on.

"That's right. Clint there is Hawkeye," he gestured to Agent Barton "Agent Romanoff is Black Widow. Bruce is the Hulk. Thor isn't here at the moment. And Steve is Captain America." At this, my eyes widened slightly. I hadn't realised that Steve was Captain America; I hadn't recognized him out of costume. Captain America had always been my favorite Avenger. I had even dressed up as him for Halloween once. Now I was just disappointed. How could someone who seemed so amazing behind a mask actually be such a jerk?

"Way to keep a secret, Tony." Clint had finally spoken up. "Come on, the girl ought to know she is in the company or the World's Mightiest Heros."

Tony sounded so smug when he said this. Too smug for my liking. "Just because you saved the world from some big bad doesn't mean that everyone you meet will worship you. Strength and Power does not equal character." With that being said, I stood up from the table and hurried from the room. They were all a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. They were the enemy, part of the group keeping me captive. I couldn't play nice with any of them. I walked and walked until I found an alcove. I couldn't escape, and I didn't want to stay. Right now I just wanted to hide. Sinking down to the floor, mostly hidden from sight, I burst into tears.

**AN: sorry if this chapter isn't too great. It's just a filler for what is to come. I needed to write a scene where Violet met the Avengers and realised who Steve is. I will write the next chapter soon, and that one will be much better. That will be when Violet begins her training and gets to know one of the Avengers a little better ;) Please review. Also, please tell me what you think of a potential OC romance?**


	6. A New Beginning

**AN: ok, so the last chapter was kind of a wreck, but I appreciate that you were supportive of Violet's rebellious attitude. That will continue in future chapters. For the first part of this chapter, the viewpoint is going to change to third-person omnipotent. Then it will go back to Violet's pont of view. zzz is when the viewpoint changes. It will be easier that way to show exactly how a certain Avenger helps Violet.**

**Also, this will be a longer than usual chapter, but an important one nonetheless. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers, Marvel, or anything of the like. Only Violet is mine.**

In the wake of Violet's hurried exit from the mess hall, Tony Stark was very confused. The girl he had just met had seemed nice and friendly, but she carried a bitterness in her heart that seemed to rule her actions. Clearly, that bitterness was from something to do with the Avengers or, by association, S.H.I.E.L.D. To Steve, Tony said "Okay, mother hen, why does that girl act like she hates the world?" Steve shook his head in reply, but Tony wasn't letting it go. "No. I know that you know something. Come on."

Relenting, Steve said "What I'm about to tell you does not leave this group." He looked pointedly at all the Avengers and Ms Potts. They all nodded in reply. Clint and Natasha were especially curious. They had both met Violet before as a teen, but they wanted to know how she had aged so fast. Fury had decided that they didn't need to know, so they were clueless. "Okay, fifteen years ago, there was a project called project Bind. It tied in with the study of the tesseract..." And Steve revealed exactly what happened with Violet. How as a baby her genetic code was found to be abnormally strong for one so young, so she was chosen for the project. How her mother agreed, and how she had been retrieved two days ago. Finally, he told them of Violet's escape attempt and what Fury had told him about Violet's condition. How he had the idea about Thor's DNA, and how Violet now had the mentality of a teen but the body of a fully grown adult.

When Steve finished his story, he looked at his friends, waiting for their response. Tony was the first to be able to form a coherent sentence. "So basically this kid has had her life screwed with because of something that happened to her as a baby which she had no control over. Now she's trapped, with no way home, and Fury wants her to be an Agent." Tony paused a moment before saying his next sentence. "Am I the only one who realised that because of the genetic bonding, Thor is basically Violet's Dad now?" That hadn't occurred to anyone else at the table, and they all began wondering how Thor would react to the fact he was a father. "No wonder she's bitter."

Clint surprised everyone by speaking up. "I remember how I felt when I was under Loki's control. Losing control of your life like that, it's not something anyone should have to go through." Rising quickly, Clint said " I'm going to see if i can talk to her. She's probably upset and confused. I can relate to her the most." Steve nodded in agreement, and Clint left the mess hall. Thinking over where Violet might go, he guessed she would want to go somewhere hidden and alone.

Knowing S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters like the back of his hand, Clint quickly found where Violet was hiding. She was tucked into a small crevice between two walls, curled into a ball, crying her eyes out.

Violet sensed someone watching her, and she raised her head to see who it was. Realising it was Hawkeye, Violet shrank back as far as she could into the crevice. She was afraid he might be mad or upset about what she said in the mess hall.

Kneeling down, Clint was eye level with Violet. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk." He reached out his hand slowly to Violet, treating her the way a person might treat a frightened kitten. Clint's heart went out to Violet. When he had gotten out of Loki's control, thanks to Natasha, he had been hurt and confused, but he had to suppress those feelings in light of the impending Battle. However, he wasn't sure he would ever forget that feeling of helplessness.

Violet slowly reached out her hand, grasping Clint's. The crying had finally let her release her pent-up emotions, leaving her weak and docile. Clint pulled her out, and Violet was unsurprised that he helped her get out with ease. Using a bow had given him some serious upper body strength.

Clint was pleased that Violet had let her guard down enough to let him help her. Maybe he could help her not be so bitter. "I'm not going to pretend that I know what it is like to lose years of your life and find yourself in a new body, Steve would probably be able to relate to you on that front," he began "But I do know what it feels like to lose control of your life." Here he paused; he was sharing something personal with a girl he barely knew. But Clint knew that this girl was broken, torn and overwhelmed by what had happened to her the past two days. She needed a friend. "Just before the Battle of New York, you wouldn't know this, but I was under the control of Loki." Violet's brow furrowed in confusion. "The scepter that Loki had allowed him to take control of my mind. I was basically brainwashed into doing whatever he told me to do. I couldn't fight his hold, it was too strong. While my body did what Loki told me to do, my mind was fighting against itself. Loki's hold was like a fog, unwavering and unending. I was forced to watch as I killed, stole, and hurt people on the order of someone who didn't hold my true allegiance. I even caused a S.H.I.E.L.D hovercraft to almost fall out of the sky." Getting back on point, Clint said "I know how it feels for someone else to have control over you. I know you want to fight with everything you have, just to regain a sort of control in creating chaos. Violet, I'm not telling you this to upset you. I'm telling you this so that you see that it doesn't help to fight. Sooner or later, you will find control in your life. Until then, focus on the things you can control. For instance, and you might hate me for saying this, training. Learn how to fight, how to defend yourself. Strengthen your mind and body, then one day, when you're strong enough, you can fight for your freedom."

Violet turned Clint's words over in her mind. He was making a good deal of sense. No matter what she did, Fury would control her freedom. But if she worked hard enough, she could win it back. She would do as Clint said,, she would put aside her anger and bitterness, and she would put all her energy into improving herself. If Fury was going to force her to be an Agent, then she would be the best damned Agent she could be. At least until she was strong enough. Steeling her resolve, she said only one word. "Okay."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (view shift)

As Clint and I walked back to the mess hall together, I felt more at ease. It was good to have a goal, something to work towards in all this craziness. I was also glad to have someone to talk to. I had a feeling that Clint and I would get along well. "So does this mean we're friends?" I asked, some of my earlier curiosity returning.

Smirking, Clint replied. "Not on your life. Steve is your hand to hand instructor, but I'm going to be your marksmanship instructor, so I will have to be completely and utterly mean." I could tell he was kidding and, for the first time since I came to S.H.I.E.L.D, I laughed. Not manic laughter, like in Fury's office, but a real laugh that came straight from the part of me that finds delight in silly things. Despite the other changes to my body, my laugh was the same. Deep and loud, a laugh that was contagious. Clint smiled, apparently glad that he had made me laugh. He continued. "I will be the meanest instructor in the world. You will be completely miserable. You will wish that Fury was the one training you instead." He said all this with a true smile on his face, and that just made me laugh harder. I was still laughing as we walked into the mess hall.

As my laughter stopped, I could see the eyes of the Avengers on me. Walking confidently over to the table, I said "I'm assuming by your expressions that Captain Rogers told you what happened with me and why I am here. I'm sorry for being rude earlier, but as you know, it was justified. However, it will not happen again. Most of you have my respect, and I will treat you as such."

The first person to react was Tony. He stood up from the table and into a hug. I was caught off guard. My arms hung limply at my sides. Pulling back, Tony was smiling. "You have guts, kid. Despite what's happened to you, you haven't let it crush your spirit. I think I speak for everyone when i say that we forgive you." Leading me back to my seat, he said "Now that the elephant is out of the room, tell us about yourself." I began answering their questions about my life, school, my family. That last part was harder to discuss, and I felt my fingers rise to my neck a few times to grasp at the locket, which I still had, miraculously. Steve had been nice enough to get a tray of food for me while Clint was looking for me. I talked in between eating; I was ravenous. I got along very well with all the Avengers, especially Clint and Tony. Natasha was nice once she started talking, and Bruce was kind of shy and bumbling, but he was a very sweet guy. Even Steve loosened up enough from whatever was bothering him and participated in the conversation.

Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask Steve something that was bugging me. "Why did you seem so disgusted when Fury told you to look after me?"

He paused a moment, considering his words. "I've been working on hunting down a group known as HYDRA for several months now, and three days ago my team located the base of a very prominent HYDRA commander. The day that I was to leave to take out the base was the day you tried to escape. That's when Fury filled me in and, well, you know. The day that you got out of surgery, Fury told me that I was being reassigned. I was off the HYDRA mission. It's not that I dislike you personally, I just don't like that I can't complete my mission while I'm looking after and teaching you."

When he finished speaking, I felt horrible. I had unintentionally gotten in the way of something that clearly meant a great deal to him. "I'm sorry." I meant it to.

Sensing my guilt, Steve put a hand on my shoulder. "HYDRA's not going anywhere. They will still be there for me to fight once you're trained." I gave him a shy half-smile. Maybe Steve Rogers wasn't such a bad guy.

Checking a clock hanging from the wall, Steve gestured to Clint and turned to me. "Its time for you to be heading to your first lessons. Clint and I will walk you there, just to be sure you're settled in with the other trainees, then we both have classes to instruct, but you will be in each of our classes this afternoon." The three of us got up from the table, and I said my good byes to the other Avengers. Tony in particular promised to drop in soon to check on me. It made me happy to realise I had another friend. Natasha winked at me and said "See you soon, kid." I was curious about what she meant.

I followed Clint and Steve down another series of hallways to a blank white door. I followed Steve inside. The room we entered was huge. It was twice the size of the mess hall, and the ceiling arched high overhead. It looked like the combination of a gym and a military base. It was split into three parts. On the first part, weights, punching bags, and various machines littered the floor, and a boxing ring was in the center. There was a shooting range in the second part of the room, the walls there were covered in all sorts of weapons. The third part was wildly different. Desks were scattered randomly, all of them facing a blank chalkboard and what looked like an interrogation table like I had seen on TV. The ceiling had targets perched all over it, and there were ropes and ladders leading up to various ledges facing the targets.

"The ceiling and middle section are where I teach." Clint said. "Steve is in the first section, and there is a third teacher who works in the third section. That's where you'll be starting. When class starts, panels slide out from the walls, separating the three sections. Only the ceiling perches run through all three sections. Try to ignore the people you will see up there. They'll be learning assassination skills, so distractions are not welcome."

"This is only the first part of training." Steve interrupted "There are separate, smaller classrooms along the hallway we entered. That's where you will be doing the book learning, science, history, languages, math. It can be rather overwhelming, but I'm sure you'll do fine. Today was a short day, so classes will be rushed. All classes let out at 2000 hours for the night. On normal days classes begin at 0600, so today you will only have an hour per class. Good luck." With that, Steve went over to the boxing ring to set up class. Clint patted my shoulder and walked me over to the third section. A woman stood by the desk, shuffling papers and occasionally writing something on the board.

"Nat." Clint called, and Natasha turned around. Clint smiled. "Natasha is going to be your strategy 101 and interrogation teacher." I smiled, happy that the teacher was someone I knew.

Almost smiling, Natasha said "Don't expect me to go easy on you, kid."

Smiling back, I replied "Wouldn't dream of it."

Natasha assigned me to a seat near the front of the class, and she handed me a couple of books to look over that would help me to catch up with what was being taught. The books were _Adventures in Espionage_ and _The Agent Manifesto. _Natasha also gave me a course outline, so I knew what to expect. Just before the other trainees arrived, she asked me a strange question. "What do you want to be called? You can keep your original name, but many trainees choose to have a codename. It would only be for class, you don't have to use it outside of lessons." I thought for a moment. If I was to change my name, my new name would have to mean something.

Then I thought of it.

"Test Subject Alpha. My codename will be Tessa." For some reason that made Natasha smile. "You do know that Tessa spelled backward is asset? I suppose it's fitting, because I think you'll be a valuable addition to S.H.I.E.L.D." Just then the other trainees began to walk in. Natasha said one last thing before going to talk with the class. "Welcome to training, Agent Tessa."

**It was pointed out to me that Tessa** **is a lot like Tessaract. I swear, that was not intentional!**


	7. Surprise!

**AN: Ok, so there was a small point of concern brought to my attention in the last chapter. I feel the need to discuss said concern. Violet is not done fighting back. In the last chapter, she said she will be the best agent she can be. She didn't say for who. Violet is only taking a short reprieve from fighting back so that she can train. She can't very well rain down fire on Nick Fury if she isn't strong enough. In later chapters, Violet will continue to rebel. But for now, she will hide her anger and train.**

**Now, for this chapter, there is going to be a bit of a time jump. It will be two weeks since Violet started her training, and I'm going to throw in a couple minor OC characters.**

**And this will be another longer chapter. Not sure how you feel about that. Let me know whether you prefer longer or shorter chapters, please.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing the rights to nothing except Violet.**

_\- Two Weeks Later -_

"No. Not like that. How many times have I told you. You can't take too long to sight and release. If you take too long, you're dead. Try again." I sighed. Clint was trying for the thousandth time to teach me archery. He just couldn't accept that I was rubbish at it. He was determined to turn me into a little Hawkeye.

Throwing down the bow in frustration, I said "Clint, give it up. I just don't have a gift for the bow. You'll just have to think of something else."

Sighing in defeat, Clint ran a hand through his hair, something i had noticed him doing when he was frustrated. "Fine, Vi. Go hit the showers." I didn't let him see my sigh of relief. We had been training since 2 am at Fury's insistence. He wanted me to be ready at all times. I had spent the better part of the morning imagining the targets and punching bags were Fury's face. Stepping away from Clint, I grabbed the rope next to me and swung down. Natasha had asked Clint to train me with the ceiling targets more. Part of Natasha's class was to face our fears; the less we were afraid of, the less an enemy could use against us if we were captured. I had narrowed my major fears down to spiders and heights. That's why we were training on the ceiling, to desensitize me to heights. The spiders I refused to even think about, but suffice to say I was no longer afraid.

Swinging down, I landed on the balls of my feet like Clint had showed me. I let myself feel a small spark of happiness. Even though it had only been two weeks, I was much stronger. Thor's DNA had given me a few enhancements, such as above average strength, endurance, and speed. My already muscular physique was now all deadly strength and speed. It had become routine for me to spar with Natasha and Clint because they were among the few who could beat me. I was in the top of almost all my classes, because it was easier for me to remember information. Other trainees were asking me to help them study, and I was more often then not called to demonstrate in class. I was the happiest I had been in years, and the saddest. All of my progress, all of my accomplishment, and my Mom had no idea. I missed her everyday; I never took off the locket. I had even asked Steve to start teaching me how to draw, just so that I could sketch my memories of her. I hadn't given up my hope of seeing her again one day, or my anger at the people who had taken her away from me. I was just waiting till the opportune moment.

I felt tears welling up behind my eyes, but I suppressed them. I couldn't show any weakness here, lest Fury was watching and saw me cracking. Only in private did i let go of my emotions. I heard someone creeping up behind me, and I recognized the now familiar footsteps. I waited till I sensed the person reaching out to me, then I quickly backstepped, drove my elbow into their chest, and flipped them over my shoulder. Moving quickly, I sat on their stomach, pinning them down. I raised my hands, pointing one fist at their face and pressing my other forearm against their neck.

"Yield." I said in the most intimidating voice I could muster.

Steve began to laugh. "Okay, Vi. Get off, you win this round." I stood up, releasing him. I brushed imaginary dust off my S.H.I.E.L.D issued catsuit and hid a smile. Ever since training began, Steve and I had gotten closer, both in class and out. I didn't consider him my den mother anymore, he was just a friend who hung around a lot. He had stopped glowering whenever I was around, and we were very comfortable around each other. He was one of the few people i trusted, but i trusted him the most. He was the only one i showed any weakness in front of. The first few days of training had been brutal, but Steve had been there with a dry towel and a cool water bottle. More recently, whenever i was scared or really missing my Mom, Steve would take me out of my cell and let me sleep in his room. I would drag my pillow and blanket with me, then settle down on the floor next to his bed. Steve always offered to take the couch so i could sleep on the bed, or to put sheets down on the couch to make it more comfortable, but I didn't want to intrude after he was already being so nice, and the couch was on the other side of the room. Being close to Steve was comforting. Though I would never admit it to anyone, and I scarcely believed it myself, the fangirl crush I had before on Captain America was nothing compared to the feelings I had for Steve Rogers. It wad wierd and complicated, but in those moments when I was sad and he would hold me close, I could almost pretend he cared.

I reached out my hand and helped Steve up. He shook his head slightly. "Guess I'll never try sneaking up on you again."

I laughed. "Well, if you didn't walk like a stampeding elephant maybe it would have worked."

He chuckled in response. "Well if you didn't have the wierd alien DNA I could so take you."

I countered with "Says the guy with serum-made muscles." This is how our banter was, lighthearted and fun until one of us gave up.

Today it was him "Lunch?" I had about half an hour before my next class, so I nodded eagerly.

"Just let me change into something less smelly and sweaty. I'll take a five minute shower and meet you in the mess hall." "Sounds good." With that, I headed to the locker room and Steve went towards the mess hall.

Entering, I heard the call of "Hey Tessa!" I turned to see a couple of people from my classes, Agent Major and Agent Richards, or as I knew them, Alison and Maria. We got along pretty well in class, and I would eat lunch with them from time to time. They were like my gossip girlfriends. They made me almost forget what was troubling me with all the talk of which Agent like which, who said what about Fury, and OMG did someone really mess up that mission? It was a little slice of normal in my crazy life.

"Tessa, were you really just talking to Captain Rogers?" , Alison asked.

Maria added in "Yeah, I saw you, like, pin him on the floor and attack him. What was that about?" No one except Clint and Natasha knew about my...special relationship with Steve. The other Agents would think he was showing me favouritism, and the other Avengers would probably not approve of a student and teacher sleeping in the same room, so it was kind of a secret.

"He and I were practising techniques for if an enemy snuck up behind you. I don't want to be unprepared." I knew they would accept this. I had developed a reputation as a slightly antisocial workaholic, because I was always 'practicing' with Steve, and I was never seen outside of headquarters. Most of the other Agents frequented night clubs or other local hot spots. Fury didn't even trust me to be alone Inside S.H.I.E.L.D. No way would he let me go Outside.

Alison and Maria began twittering about some love triangle among other Agents, leaving me to myself. I rinsed off in the showers, then pulled my wet hair into a messy bun. I was almost used to the strange color. The catsuit was only necessary for physical training, so I threw on a pair of black shorts and my favorite light blue t-shirt that said 'I speak fluent sarcasm'. I had managed to convince that I needed more than just S.H.I.E.L.D regulated clothes, so he had let Natasha to several department stores and get me clothes that would fit. She had somehow managed to sneak in a beautiful ball gown and similar clothing to what I had worn when I first arrived.

I had questioned her about the gown, but all she said was "You never know." I had immediately shoved it to the back of my closet. While I was still kept under lock and key, Fury had moved me to a room that was actually fit for people to live in. It had a closet, a bureau, a bed, and a bathroom. It wasn't much, but it was better than before.

Slipping on a pair of sandals, I headed to the mess hall. They were serving my favorite meal, a hot sandwich of what was supposed to be chicken. The food here was even weirder than in high school, and I still wasn't convinced the food was drugged. When I walked into the hall, Steve waved me over to what I had mentally named The Avenger Table, since I never saw anyone sitting there except for the Avengers. I smiled when I recognized a familiar head of slightly gelded hair and the scent of oil. Tony was here.

"Hey kid." He said as I sat down. "How've you been?"

"It's only been four days since you saw me, tin man." Tony had been even better than his word. He had kept his promise about seeing me when he could. Sometimes he came up with completely ludicrous excuses to frequent S.H.I.E.L.D when i would be around. I had come to think of him as a particularly doting Uncle.

Tony wrapped a hand around my shoulders, shaking me slightly. "I missed you, little flower." Tony had taken to calling me childish names. Little flower was his favorite nickname for me, because of my name. I responded by calling him names that were aimed at his suit and arc reactor. It was all in good fun. "When am I going to be able to take you with me to Stark Tower? We have all the cool stuff." I had become something of a science geek, often spending time with Dr Banner in his lab.

"As soon as Fury gets the giant stick out of his butt." This made Tony laugh. We both pretended it was just a matter of time till I could rejoin the world, but we both knew I could never leave. Even if I became a full Agent, Fury would probably never let me go on away missions. I would be stuck with some crappy desk job, holed up here for the rest of my days. Seeing that I was slipping into one of my funks, Steve scooted over to sit next to me, sliding over a tray with him. I ate the offered food, but I didn't taste it. I hadn't told anyone, but today would have been my sixteenth birthday. If I was with my Mom, she would have taken me to get my learner's permit, so I could start learning to drive, and we would have celebrated with cake and a Harry Potter marathon.

As I was thinking over what could have been, Agent Coulson slipped into the mess hall. A change went through everyone in the room. No one wanted to get on the wrong side of Fury's right-hand man, so the noise level immediately went down, and people sneakily cleaned up their tables. But Coulson didn't notice. He was too busy walking straight toward the table I was currently seated at. He stopped, simply saying "Fury wants to see you." Before turning on his heel and exiting.

I looked fearfully at Steve. I hadn't seen Fury for two weeks, and I was only scheduled to see him next week for a progress report. This was unexpected. I took a deep breath, like Natasha had told me to when I was worried. No use worrying until I had all the facts. Steve and I stood up and headed to Fury's office. Tony mouthed "Good Luck" to me as I exited.

It didn't take long to get to Fury's office, the walk only taking five minutes. Just before we entered the office, Steve rested a hand on my shoulder and gave me a light reassuring squeeze. The door slid open, and I wiped all emotion of my face like Natasha taught me. Stepping in, Fury stood facing us behind his desk. "Agent Violet, or is it Tessa now?", he greeted.

"Only my friends call me Violet. You can call me Tessa.", I said to Fury, as smoothly as if I was talking about the weather. He shot me a look I couldn't read.

"Captain Rogers" he greeted Steve, and I saw Steve slip back into his dutiful soldier attitude.

"Director" he responded with a slight salute. "At ease. How has...Tessa here...been behaving? I trust she has not been too much trouble."

"Not at all, sir." Steve replied smoothly.

"I am sure, Tessa, that you would not have expected me to not realise that you made me unaware of something." This made my heart flutter slightly. Did he know about Steve and me being friends? Would he put me with another Agent if he was aware? Would that make Steve happy?

That last thought caught me by surprise. I had never considered that Steve was only being nice to me because he had to be. Was it all an act? Pushing aside these thoughts for later, I asked "To what are you referring, Director?" The title felt foreign in my mouth, and as it past my lips I felt nauseous.

"I am referring, Agent Tessa, to your birthday." Now I was shocked. Why would Fury care if it was my birthday?

As if reading my mind, Fury said "Tessa, I'm the head of a secret government agency. I'm not heartless. I know this hasn't been easy on you, but I want to give you something for your birthday. You will be accompanied by Captain Rogers and a tracker will be implanted temporarily, but I will allow you to choose one activity for your birthday outside of S.H.I.E.L.D."

**AN: wow. Who saw that coming? PLEASE REVIEW! Also, whoever wants to can send me an idea about what Violet should choose as her one activity.**


	8. New Plans

**AN**: **READ THIS! So I believe another apology is in order. It has come to my attention that my grammar is...less than satisfactory. I will be going back through the previous chapters and fixing my errors. For those of you who found it hard to read because of my mistakes, I am sorry, and I hope my re-writes will please you.**

**Also, this chapter will be in third-person omnipotent. That may or may not be a permanent change. Let me know what you prefer, PLEASE!**

**SPOILET ALERT!- In this chapter, we will be introduced to...Hydra!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, S.H.I.E.L.D, the Avengers, Hydra, etc. Only Violet is mine. MINE!**

Violet stood frozen; the key to everything she had been longing for was right in front of her. It was so impossible and improbable that she couldn't help but squeeze out the question "What's the catch?"

Fury sighed in frustration. Violet was truly looking a gift horse in the mouth. It had taken much persuading of the board and calling in a few favors to give her this opportunity. There were very few people in S.H.I.E.L.D that considered Violet to be anything but a freak experiment. There had, of course, been a condition to her temporary venture. This he told Violet. "The catch is that you cannot speak with anyone about S.H.I.E.L.D. You cannot speak of the training, the experiments, any of it. And you must wear a tracker."

Violet couldn't believe it. She asked one more question. "Can I see my Mom?"

Fury shook his head. "No." Violet's heart sank. Then Fury said "But you can call her. Just don't mention S.H.I.E.L.D, or preventive measures will be taken." Not able to help herself, Violet ran around Fury's desk, her inner child coming out.

Wrapping her arms around Fury's waist, she sobbed into his jacket "Thank you." Fury stood stunned, but then reached out a hand and patted her back. His mouth quircked at the corner, which was as close as he would come to a look of happiness. Then Violet collected herself. Despite her happiness, she was still bitter. Fury owed her this chance. After all, it was still his fault she was restricted to a phone call.

"Thank you." Violet said, now in a calm, collected tone.

"I would suggest that you go and prepare for your night out. You will be injected with the tracker before you leave. The driver will be notified of your destination of choice. As I cannot allow you to call your Mom from headquarters,I suggest you choose somewhere with a phone." Violet nodded, then thought for a moment. She wanted to choose somewhere fun, something that would let her forget her troubles for a time. Then it hit her.

"Lasertag."

Steve looked at Violet in confusion. "What's Lasertag?" Violet laughed.

"I'll explain on the way. C'mon, Capsicle, we have a night of to prepare for." Violet had to restrain herself from skipping down the hall. She was so happy to be getting out, even if it was only for a night. Reaching her quarters, Violet entered without hesitation, but Steve lingered by the door. He only entered Violet's room when he was leading her to his room because she was upset. He never entered casually.

Rolling her eyes, Violet said "Steve, get your fine butt in here now." Blushing deeply, Steve stepped inside the doorway. Violet was a little amazed ay herself. She had no idea where that comment had come from. It was probably her excitement clouding her judgement. Otherwise, she never would have said that. Rushing to her closet, Violet began pulling out possible outfits for tonight and laying them on her bed.

"So what is Lasertag?" Steve asked. Violet smiled to herself at his confusion. It was adorable. 'Wait, where did that come from?' Violet asked herself internally.

Deciding to have some fun with Steve, she said "Lasertag is an indoor game where everyone gets a gun and it's a fight to the death with lasers." Steve's look of horror made Violet crack up. She could barely breath, she was laughing so hard. Wiping tears out of here eyes, she said "Just kidding."

Recovering from his momentary panic, Steve gave Violet a look of indignation. She only laughed harder. Gaining a look of mishchief, Steve wrapped his arms around a still laughing Violet and began to tickle her. "Stop...Steve...can't...breathe." Violet gasped out. She was extremely ticklish, something Steve knew very well.

"Say you're sorry." Steve demanded. Violet conceded defeat, and he let up his relentless attack.

Violet swatted him playfully on the shoulder. "Old man." she said in a teasing tone.

"Teenager." Steve responded, laughing.

Picking out one of her favorite outfits, Violet turned to Steve, deciding to get a bit of revenge. "Can I change now or do you plan on staying and watching?" Steve's face turned several amazing shades of red. Violet held in her laughter lomg enough for Steve to step outside the room, then burst out laughing. Still chuckling to hereself, Violet took off her catsuit, which she tossed into a corner of the room. She loathed the uniform. Violet slipped into her favorite black skinny jeans, which accented her curves. Her top was a purple tunic top that, while long, was tight around the bodice and left little to the imagination. Violet's fashion had changed with her adult body. Clothes that her Mom had told her looked too grown-up on her now complimented her perfectly. Violet pulled out a small make-up kit and did a simple cats-eye makeup with green shadow, so her eyes popped. The finishing touch was red lipstick. Her shoes were basic black flats. Her hair was left down, a simple kind of elegance. She was ready for a night on the town.

Opening the door, Steve barely kept his jaw from dropping to the floor. Even so, his eyes bugged. He had never seen Violet in so flattering an outfit. She looked...beautiful. Then Steve mentally slapped himself. 'Get yourself together. The last thing this girl needs is you going moon-eyed over her. And she's a teenager for goodness' sake!'

Violet silently laughed at Steve's expression. He clearly liked the outfit. Lacing her arm through his, Violet said "Ready?"

Finding his voice, Steve only replied with a simple "Um..yeah. Ready." Violet had to repress a smile. "So, looking forward to Lasertag? Steve asked, and Violet smiled mentally. 'Oh Steve, you don't know me at all.' she thought.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Meanwhile, far away from New York, in a small Virginia town, a heavy hand knocked on a red door. The door was opened by a middle-aged woman. "You called?" the man on the porch asked. The woman nodded, and the door opened to admit the man. He didn't step far inside the house. "It is rare that we recieve such a...unique request."

The woman only said "I thank you for coming. You can do it, right?" The man nodded. The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a creased picture. She handed it to the man. Looking at the picture, the man saw the woman in front of him and a young girl together, smiling. On the back it read ' Mom and Violet at the Fair.'

Desperation in her eyes, the woman said "Bring my daughter back to me."

The man looked her in the eyes. "Don't worry, Ms Unari. Hydra will find her. No matter what."

**OH MY! How does Violet's Mom have ties to Hydra?! What is Violet really planning? What will happen between Steve and Violet? We will see. RREVIEW!**


	9. Part 1

**AN: No one commented on the end of my last chapter. It's disheartening :( Anyway, on to Violet's outing. What does she really have planned? This is a two parter. this is part one. Part two will be posted shortly.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Violet. Nothing else Marvel is mine, sadly.**

I tapped away on the computer, knowing I only had a short amount of time before my actions would be tracked. The codes I had used were specific to a S.H.i.E.L.D Agent. But by then it would be too late. The damage would be done and the hacker tracking software would be unavailable. All they would know was that someone in S.H.I.E.L.D had done this; they wouldn't know who. I told Fury that he would regret what he did to me, and this is the first step. I had to thank Natasha for giving me the skills to even be able to pull of this kind of damage. It was worth the five hours spent watching her type on a projector screen.

'Oh, Steve, if you could see me now.' I thought, and a I felt a slight pang in my heart. Steve would be proud of me for learning how to do this, but I felt sorry that he would be in trouble with Fury for not stopping me. I looked at Steve lying on the floor. As soon as we got here I had to knock him out. He would wake up soon, but I had betrayed his trust in me by lying to him. Lasertag, ha! The only good thing about Lasertag was the computers. They could receive radio signals from the guns when someone shot or was shot. That meant they could send out a radio signal to, say, S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. With the right hacking of course. I tapped in the last code. One quick press of the Enter button, and in less than thirty seconds the power at headquarters would be shut off. While everyone was scrambling to turn on the lights, my pre-programmed virus would deny all access to S.H.I.E.L.D secure files. That meant that not only could my actions not be traced, but all files above a level one clearance would be unavailable, meaning only food menus and schedules could be accessed. All facial recognition software would be offline, criminals couldn't be genetically traced, and all data collected by the scientists would be unavailable. Everyone would have to start from scratch; missions would be useless. My personal favorite part of the program was that all password encoded cells in headquarters would be unlocked, releasing all held convicts, test subjects, and anything or anyone else that Fury had locked up. It would be hell for Fury, but Candyland for me.

'Never give your enemy the keys to your demise' I aimed this thought at Fury. He had been the one who decided I needed to learn this, so his actions had given me the knowledge to pull this off. I had, however, left one thing untouched. While everything else in the building would be going crazy, Tony and Bruce's lab would stay safe and secured. I had left the lights on in there, and even set the speakers to play ACDC. It would devastate Tony if anything happened to his equipment, so I had made sure that wouldn't happen. It was a way of thanking him for being so accepting of me, for looking out for me.

One quick tap.

It was done.

"Welcome to hell, Fury."

**-Three Hours Earlier-**

I convinced Steve to make a quick trip into Tony and Bruce's lab to let them know what Fury had said. As we entered the lab, I saw the two of them tapping away on one of the various screens that hung around the room. "Hello nerds." I called cheerfully, catching their intention.

"Vi!" Tony raced over and pulled me into a hug. "We were worried. You seemed anxious when Coulson got you from the mess hall."

He released me, and I said "Well, the summons was unexpected but not unpleasant." I explained about what Fury had wanted, what today was, and how I was being allowed out for tonight. They were both very pleased that I was being released for a night, but Tony chastised me for not telling them about my birthday. Bruce complimented my outfit, and for a reason I couldn't understand, Steve seemed to tense up a little. Tony saw this, and he looked at Steve with a knowing look. Bruce whispered something to Tony, and Tony nodded in response.

"Stop conspiring. What are you two talking about?" I said, curious.

Tony waved off my question. "Nothing." Then he pulled me aside and explained good techniques for winning Lasertag. Bruce was talking to Steve on the other side of the lab, probably about the same thing. It seemed like an in depth-conversation. Then Tony asked me something unexpected. "What's going on between you and Steve?"

I was caught off-guard. "Um, what about me and Steve?"

"Come on, Vi, you two were looking awfully snugly when you walked in. There is no way that you two are just friends."

"But we are. Only..." Then I admitted to Tony about how Steve would take me to his room when I was scared. I told him about how I truly trusted Steve. How I was scared he might only be only being nice to me because he had to be. Here Tony interrupted me.

"Violet, there is no way he is being nice because he has to be. He cares about you, anyone can see that. Just be careful, okay? I don't want to see you get hurt." Tony gave me another hug, and he told me to have fun.

Just before Steve and I left the lab, I turned to Tony and said "How long are you going to be here tonight?"

"Probably all night. This may take awhile. Why?"

Not answering his question, I said "Do me a favor, stay in tonight."

Tony was confused, but agreed. I made Bruce promise the sane thing too. I was about to put my plan into action, and I didn't want to have to worry about them. I felt bad for lying, but I had too.

Steve and I headed to Fury's office. We had been told to go there so I could get my tracker. I wasn't looking forward to it. We entered, and Fury was waiting with Natasha. "Looking good, Vi." Natasha said.

I smiled. "Thanks. What are you doing here?"

"Agent Romanoff will be injecting you with your tracker." Fury interjected.

Shooting me an apologetic look, Natasha reached into a black bag strapped to her hip and pulled out something that looked like a bracelet. In a monotone voice, she said "This is your tracker. It will allow us to follow your actions on the computer. If you go anywhere not allowed, a signal will be sent out and you will be injected with a sedative." As an afterthought, she added "Don't do anything stupid." Attaching the tracker to my wrist, I felt a slight pinch. Natasha explained that it was a needle in my skin, so I couldn't remove the tracker. At that moment, I finally understood how wild animals felt when humans tagged them. Humiliated.

"Have fun." Fury said, and I almost flipped him off, but didn't. I would get my revenge soon. As much as I hated being tracked like an animal, I would deal with it until my plan took action.

Steve and I walked to the elevator, then headed down to the sublevel garage. On the way down, I could tell that there was something on his mind. He had the look he normally wore when he was deep in thought.

"Penny for your thoughts." I said, hoping Steve would tell me what was bothering him. I didn't like it when there was something upsetting him. Normally I would have thrown my arms around his waist and give him my best puppy dog eyes until he caved, but something felt different. There was a tension in the air between us that hadn't been there before.

"It's nothing." Steve said, and I was struck by his tone of voice. He almost sounded...grouchy.

"Bullshit." I said, firmly capturing his attention. "Steve, you hide your emotions as well as a five year old on a sugar rush. I can tell that there is something bugging you, and that bothers me. So cut the crap and tell me what's wrong."

Steve sighed. "If I tell you, you'll hate me."

Feeling a little wary, I put a hand on his arm. His gaze locked with mine. "Nothing you ever tell me could ever make me hate you. I don't think it's possible for me to hate you." I said this with a wry smile. When there was no change in his expression, I said "Steve, you're my friend. No matter what that will never change. I will stand by you, no matter what.

As the doors slid open to the parking garage, I thought I heard him say "That's the problem" But it was drowned out in the sounds from outside. There was a black SUV waiting right in front, and we slid into the back seat. The car took off, and we headed out.

**Yes, I know. Not so great. I promise part 2 will be better.**


	10. Part 2- Lost

**AN: So, as promised, here is part two of the previous chapter. Hope you approve. And a special thanks to the two readers who reviewed my last chapter. It means the world to me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Captain America, Nick Fury, Black Widow, or any associated material. I only own Violet. She's my girl :)**

As the car exited the garage, I instantly pressed my face against the window, all thoughts of Steve forgotten. I drank in the sight of New York. Tall buildings loomed above me, lights shining from every angle. The sun was just beginning to set, casting a red glow over the city. I tapped on the driver's shoulder. "Can I roll down the window?" I asked.

He sighed. "Just don't try to escape through it. I have permission to shoot you if need be."

Holding up one hand, the other over my heart, I said "Scout's honor."

Steve gave me a look. "Were you ever a scout?"

I hit him lightly on the arm. "Shut up. You know what I mean." Then my attention was captured by the sights again. I rolled down the window, and my senses were greeted with strange new sensations. I heard people talking over each other, the frantic pounding of feet on pavement, the squeal of tires and the loud cacophony of horns. I could smell metal and cheap street food, and a smell I couldn't name, but was uniquely human. We passed through Times Square, and I couldn't contain a squeal of delight as I saw a huge sign for Broadway.

I was so busy taking in the city that I barely noticed when we reached the destination. "We're here." The driver said, and I was sad to have to go inside again. I followed Steve inside, and as he checked us in, I took note of the place. There was an arcade filling up the back of the room, a snack bar lined one wall, and a dark hallway had a sign for Lasertag directly over it. Best of all, there was a telephone booth tucked into the back of the arcade.

Steve finished talking to the clerk, and he handed me a bright orange ticket with black lettering on it. When he saw my attention was elsewhere, he followed my gaze. Turning to face him, I said "I have a call to make." Steve nodded and, wordlessly, he gave me some change to pay for the call. I gave him a grin, happy that he was there for me. On impulse, I leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Before he could say anything, I walked over to the booth. My hands shook and my pulse raced. I inserted the necessary change, and typed in the number I remembered so well. Hope pounded within me. I didn't know what I would do if there was no answer. The line rang once...twice...three times and there still was no answer. Hope began to fade as the fourth ring passed. Then, on the fifth ring, there was noise.

"Hello?" A sleepy voice asked, and tears dripped down my face. One word from a voice I knew by heart. "Hello?" My mom asked again.

"Mom, its me." I said softly into the phone, still not believing my ears.

"Who?" She asked agin.

"Mom, its me." I repeated. "Violet."

"You know Violet?!" She said, and I grew worried.

"It is Violet. Your daughter. The one who was taken away from you." I explained frantically, not sure how she didn't know it was me.

"Look, I don't know who this is, but you are not my daughter. You don't sound at all like her. I don't know how you know that, but don't call this number again.

"MOM!" I yelled desperately, but it was too late. The line went dead. I fell to the floor, my legs collapsing. My brain couldn't process what just happened. I had talked to my Mom, I had heard her voice, but she didn't know it was me. One thought became clear. The experiment. The genetic bonding. It had changed my voice. I no longer sounded like a teenager, or like myself at all. And I couldn't call her back and explain. Fury had made it clear that I couldn't tell her about S.H.I.E.L.D or the bonding. My heart broke as I realised that I had well and truly lost her. Even if I found her somewhere, my Mom wouldn't know it was me anymore. I had no family left. Tears fell freely from my eyes as I lay hopelessly on the floor.

I was filled with a blinding rage. It was Fury's fault. He did this to me. He may have saved my life, but he destroyed it too. I was in hell. Rising slowly, I wiped the tears from my eyes. It was Fury's turn to be in hell. Putting on a mask like Natasha taught me, I hid my despair. I couldn't let Steve get suspicious and report to Fury.

Exiting the booth, I put on a fake smile and made my steps bounce to imitate happiness. Steve was studying a claw machine, clearly not sure how to play. Turning to me, he said "That was quick."

Not addressing his statement, I threw my arms around his middle. "Thank you for letting me talk with her. It meant so much to me."

Steve was a little taken aback, but he returned my hug. "No problem, Vi. Let's play some Lasertag."

Walking over to the dark hallway, we handed our tickets to the bored looking manager. He led us inside, and we were outfitted with plastic guns. There was a short, three-minute video explaining the basics of Lasertag. During that time, I braced myself for what I had to do. The only part of my plan that I felt bad about was hurting Steve. But it was necessary for the plan to work. When the video ended, we were led into a dark, humid room lit only by black lights. I could see we were surrounded by obstacles and, best of all, I spotted the glow of a computer on the other side of the room. A man's voice rang through the room, saying we had two minutes to get into place before the game began. Steve began to walk off, but I grabbed his sleeve. "Steve, your gear is on wrong. Mind if I fix it?" He nodded. In truth, his gear was fine, but it blocked his neck and I needed to land a direct hit to his neck to knock him out. I adjusted the gear quickly, then smiled at Steve. He smiled back. I felt a twisting sensation in my stomach. Guilt. I knew that chaos would ensue if I pulled this off, and I might be taken away from Steve. Making a split second decision, I stepped closer to him, then tilted my face up. I was surprised when Steve met me halfway, but I was lost in the kiss. His lips on mine were so warm and soft, they drowned out my thoughts and I was lost in sensation. I moved my lips slightly, he responded. We just stood there, kissing, until a loud buzz went off, signaling the beginning of the game. We pulled apart. Steve looked at me in shock and wonder. Before he could say anything, I spoke first. "I'm sorry." Before he could react, I swung my fist into the soft pressure point in his neck. Then, just to make sure he was out, I kicked the back of his head. Not enough to kill him, but it would hurt like hell when he woke up. Stripping off my gear, I headed to the computer. Time to get to work.


	11. Shockwave

AN:** No reviews! Is anyone even reading this story anymore. Come on people, I need some reassurance that I'm not just sending words into an abyss. A review, a pm, something. **

**Disclaimer: nothing Marvel is mine. Only Violet is.**

**-Back at S.H.I.E.L.D-**

Tony smiled to himself. It had been nice to see Violet so happy. When he first met her, she had been angry and bitter. When she started training, she had thrown herself into it fully. The hard work had done Violet a lot of good. But she had still been removed and lonely. Then Steve had reached out to her. Somehow, those two connected. Steve needed someone to look after, protect. It was in his nature to want to help, and Violet gave him that opportunity. Violet needed someone to be her anchor in the crazy sea of life that had been imposed on her. Steve gave her a source of strength and comfort. They worked well together.

"What's put that smirk on your face?" Bruce asked, interrupting Tony's train of thought.

"Just thinking about Vi and Steve. It was nice to see her happy." Tony replied

Bruce smiled wistfully at this. "I know. It's only a matter of time till one of them makes a move."

"Ten bucks says they kiss tonight." Tony bet.

Reaching out his hand, Brice said "You're on."

Just as Tony grasped Bruce's hand in his, the lights blinked off. Then just as quickly they turned back on. Suddenly, the speakers started blaring ac/dc 'back in black'.

Bruce looked questioningly at Tony, who in turn held up his hands. "I didn't do it." Lowering his hands, Tony shouted above the music "Jarvis, what happened?"

The music lowered slightly. "Sir, I'm afraid my protocols are being overridden. I cannot stop the music, or open the doors. My scans show that all of S.H.I.E.L.D is experiencing various technical problems, but i cannot access their database."

This puzzled Tony immensely. "Someone hacked S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"That is correct, Sir." Jarvis replied.

"Who could hack S.H.I.E.L.D?" Bruce asked, thinking out loud.

Tony considered for a moment. "Not many people. Nat could, but she wouldn't intentionally cause technical issues. I could, have done before. But it wasn't me this time." Then something hit Tony. "Nat teaches a hacking class right? Could one of her students have done this?"

"If they were smart enough, then yeah."

Then Tony and Bruce looked at each other as the realization hit them. Who was the one person who made sure they would stay in the lab tonight? The same person who would want to keep them from meddling and from getting hurt. Tony cursed loudly, while Bruce said "What have you gotten yourself into now, Vi?"

**-Fury's Office-**

Director Fury stood in his office, waiting. As soon as the lights had flickered, he knew something was wrong. "Agent Romanoff, report" he said into the comm. Five minutes later Natasha was in his office.

"Sir, someone hacked our system. All tracking systems, all files are blocked from access, and all prisoners in the holding center have been released from their cells. With the system down, we can't track the hacker, or restore the system."

"Well, what CAN we do?" Fury said, frustrated.

"Agent have been sent to manually force the prisoners back into their cells. Not much we can do otherwise."

Fury paced, agitated. "Get Captain Rogers and Agent Tessa back here."

**-Lasertag-**

Violet finished wiping the computer's drive, leaving no evidence of her activities. Now she had a more daunting task, convincing Steve that she hadn't knocked him out. He would have to be her alibi when they got back to headquarters, and she did intend to return. No way was she missing watching Fury wriggle like a bug under a magnifying glass as his precious organization went crazy.

Violet kneeled down next to Steve. He looked so peaceful when he was unconscious. Raising her hand, Violet smacked Steve across his face. He jerked awake, sputtering. "Vi! How...why...what happened?"

Feigning concern, Violet said "We were playing when you collapsed. I ran over and it looked like you ran into something. It is kind of hard to see in here."

Steve sat slowly, hand pressed to his forehead. "Must have been some hit. My head is pounding."

Violet rested a hand on his shoulder."Come on. The staff should have a bag of ice for your head."

Steve walked slowly, feigning a headache. In truth, he had never been out. He could tell that Violet's demeanor had changed towards him, and the she was planning something. That something would get her into trouble, and Steve needed to keep a close eye on Violet.

Steve thanked her for the ice. As he pressed the cold bag to his head, Steve's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text for Natasha. 'Fury wants you both. Trouble at headquarters. Extraction at the curb.' Steve pocketed the phone, tugging on Violet's arm. "We have to go. Fury wants us back at headquarters."

Violet felt her stomach drop and her face pale. In theory she thought she could handle this, but when actually faced with confronting Fury, she was terrified. Composing her face into a mask of cool calm, Violet said "Let's go."

**I am soooo sorry for the short chapter. This was just a filler, and I haven't updated in so long, I just wanted to get something out there. The next one will be better, I Promise!**


	12. You or him

**AN: A special shout-out to Castielismybff. I had almost abandoned this story, but now I have renewed vigor for completing Violet's tale. Let the adventure continue.**

Natasha picked them up just outside the building. No words were exchanged between the three of them; there was a simple purity of purpose between them. Though one of them had a different purpose than the others, their minds were all set on one thing, Headquarters. Ten minutes later they were racing into Fury's office. "About damn time. I need the three of you working on containment. Our priority is to take down the prisoners by whatever means necessary. Try to at least keep some of them alive, maybe they were in on the attack. Once that's done, Captain, I need you to help get Stark and Banner out of their lab. They were sealed in when this all went down, and Stark is the only one who can track down who did this to my agency."

Nodding assent, Violet, Steve, and Natasha headed out and down to the lower levels. A passing Agent handed Steve his shield, and Natasha checked her Widow Bites. Violet, having no special weapon, mentally prepared herself for what she would encounter. This would be her first real fight, and it would not be good. Racing down the stairs, Steve and Natasha jumped right into the fight they met, quickly taking out targets. Violet was frozen in shock. The long hallway was a mass of fighting bodies. Men and women tangled in a brutal mass of struggling limbs. The prisoners were able to pick out, dressed in white jumpsuits. Violet felt sick to her stomach when she saw that some of that white was painted red with blood. A man, clearly a prisoner, turned to Violet. The agent he had fought slumped to the ground, neck at a wrong angle. The man grinned cruelly. He was large, amass of tattoos and muscle. Letting out an animalistic roar, he aimed a powerful punch at Violet. Snapping out of her thoughts, Violet twisted to the side, barely missing the attack. She was distracted and didn't see the kick following. Violet lost her breath as a sharp pain dug into her side. She had definitely broken something. Violet's vision filled with red. She had always had a bit of a temper, but now she was beyond angry. Ignoring the stabbing pain, she threw her own blows at the man. Taken back by her sudden attack, the man began fighting defensively. "I did not go through all of this to be taken down by a tattooed thug." Violet hissed, each word punctuated by a blow. With a final shout, she twisted and landed on the man's back. Without thinking, she grabbed his head and snapped his neck.

As the man's body slumped to the floor, Violet's head cleared. She had gotten lost in attacking, in taking him down. It was like she had lost herself for a moment. Slumping to the floor, Violet stared at her hands in disgust. Steve and Natasha took down other prisoners around her, but she couldn't see them. She was lost in herself. She didn't see the blue aura that surrounded her, forming a barrier of energy. All she could see were her murderous hands and feel the horror and fear of what she had done.

Steve finished taking down the last of the prisoners, and spotted Natasha tying up two others. 'Heaven help them once Fury begins interrogating them' Steve thought. But his attention was distracted by a mass huddled on the ground. It was Violet. A man's body was on the floor not far from her, she was staring at her hands, and she was...glowing? What appeared to be blue light surrounded Violet. "Vi, what's wrong?" Steve reached out a hand to rest on Violet's shoulder, but then quickly drew back. As soon as he touched the blue light, he felt a shock run through his arm, like he had stuck his finger in an electrical outlet. "Um, Vi, can you get rid of the blue?" Steve asked, cradling his arm.

Violet looked up at the sound of a voice, but her eyes were glassy, lifeless. "What?" She asked; her voice sounded far away and emotionless.

"Vi, I can't help you until you tell me what's wrong." Steve said, trying to coax Violet out of shock.

"I killed him Steve. I killed him, and I didn't feel a thing. I just snapped his neck, and he died. I'm a murderer."

Steve could see Violet retreating inside herself, becoming catatonic. Doing the only thing he could think of, Steve called for Natasha. When she saw Violet, her eyes widened in surprise. "I found her like this after the fight. She killed a man. I don't know what the blue is, but it zapped me when I tried to touch her."

"Well it could be that the tesseract in her heart is manifesting, creating a barrier, triggered by strong emotions, like shock or fear." Steve shot Natasha a disbelieving look. She shrugged. "What, you thought you were the only one Fury clued in about her situation? It was kind of obvious to anyone who had met her before." Crouching next to Violet, Natasha waved her hand in front of her face. "Come on, Vi, snap out of it. This is what you were training for. This was bound to happen sooner or later. It's better he died than you. If you hadn't killed him, someone else would have. There's nothing you could have done. Now get rid of the light show and we'll go get some comfort food."

This seemed to reach Violet. The blue faded, and she rose shakily to her feet. "Okay." Was all she said before she started stumbling toward the stairs.

Steve rushed forward and wrapped his arm around Violet's waist. "It's okay, I've got you."

Natasha put her hand on Steve's arm. "You have to go help Stark and Banner. I've got Violet."

Nodding, Steve stepped backwards. "Okay. I'll be as quick as I can." He directed this to Violet.

Natasha held back a smile. Steve had it bad for Violet, and vice versa. If only it wasn't so complicated between the two of them. Leading Violet up the stairs, Natasha was puzzling out how to get the two of them together. She had tried to find a date for Steve ever since New York, and here was the opportunity. This was not going to pass her by.

Violet numbly followed Natasha. When she had planned this, she hadn't realised the amount of death it would entail. If only she had planned better, less lives could have been lost. Even if they were criminals, it was still a loss. Violet began to regret what she had done, involving so many in her revenge. Was it really worth it?

**Sorry for the bad chapter :( I'm having writer's block. Please Review!**


	13. Fallen too far

**AN: so there have been some questions about Violet's motivation that I feel I should address, again. Violet returned to S.H.I.E.L.D to see the outcome. She wanted to see Fury lose control of his organization just as she lost control of her life. Fury took her freedom, so she took something equally precious to him. That is all, now on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: Only the plotline and Violet is mine, nada else.**

Violet stared numbly at the food in front of her, not enticed by the delicious smells. Natasha had managed to get a root beer float and a BLT burger, Violet's comfort food of choice, but she had only taken a small sip of the float and picked at the burger. "What's wrong, Vi? You've hardly touched your food." Natasha's voice brought Violet back to the present.

"I'm scared, Natasha. What I did scared me. Less than three weeks ago, I could never imagine fighting anyone, let alone killing a man. I'm scared of what I'm capable of."

Then Natasha did something rare; she reached over and took Violet's hand. "Vi, being scared isn't a bad thing. To be scared is to be human. You have no red in your ledger. Maybe a drop, but since you killed a criminal, I'm not even sure that counts. The point is, you did good, and that's nothing to be afraid of." Natasha stopped and removed her hand. Her phone vibrated with a new message. "It's Fury. He wants to see us." Violet hid a slightly manic smile. If Fury had found out it was her, Violet would laugh at him for giving her the abilities she needed to screw with him.

Walking down the hallway to Fury's office, Violet's heart beat with anticipation and nerves. One thought pounded in her head, what would Steve think? S.H.I.E.L.D had become his home since he woke up, it was all he knew. Would he hate Violet for what she had done? This caused Violet's throat to tighten and her steps slowed. When she started planning revenge against Fury, she hadn't planned on...falling for Steve.

As soon as they reached Fury's office, they were ushered in by Coulson. Tony, Bruce, and Steve all stood in the office. Fury paced behind his desk. "Agent Romanoff, Agent Tessa. As you can see, we were able to recover Dr Banner and Mr Stark."

Here Tony interrupted. "No thanks to the kid. We had to wait for Capsicle to force his way through." Tony threw his arms around Violet. "I'm glad you're okay, Vi."

Pulling out of the embrace, Violet ruffled Tony's hair. "Hey, no worries. You can't get rid of me so easily."

"Can we save the reunions till later?" Fury interrupted, his voice laced with sarcasm and frustration. "Now, in light of what has happened, it has been decided that our current position is no longer secure. Therefore, while the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D is moved to an undisclosed location, the rest of you will be removed to Avengers tower. That includes you, Tessa." Violet had to stop herself from squealing like a fangirl. After seeing the news coverage of The Battle of New York, Violet had always dreamed of being in the tower. It was the dream of any and all Avengers fans.

"What about Agent Barton?" Natasha asked, her tone remaining flat, but Violet could see it in her eyes. She was anxious for Clint to return from his mission, but when he returned, he wouldn't know about headquarters.

"Agent Barton has been notified of the situation, and he will return as soon as his mission is completed. And he will be bringing someone with him."

"Who?" Violet asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Fury gave her an unreadable look. "Well, you should be excited, our visitor will be coming for you. As soon as Captain Rogers informed me of the development in your...abilities, I got in contact with Asgard. Thor is coming."

**Please don't hate me -shrinks- I just needed to get out this chapter. It sets up my next few, which I swear will be longer. Sorry for the long wait. School has been craaaaazy, but I will start updating regularly again. Swearsies!**


	14. Home

**AN: ...can't think of anything to say. Whoops. Let the story continue.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Violet and the idea for this story. **

It didn't take long for Violet to pack up her few belongings. All she had were a few outfits, some makeup, a blanket from Steve, and her locket. She had to take it off during training, and she slipped the locket on happily. Violet didn't know what she would do if she lost her last physical connection to her Mother. Once all of her things were packed in a travel suitcase Natasha had loaned her, Violet headed out. She was supposed to meet everyone by the elevator to the garage. Violet felt almost wistful as she walked through the hallway. Though she hadn't been here for long, this building had become a sort of home. 'Though i suppose that most people don't try to cause the downfall of their homes' Violet thought, a slight smirk on her face.

"What's so funny, kid?" Tony asked, startling Violet. She had been lost in thought.

"Your face." Violet replied.

Tony chuckled. "Well, if my face is funny, what does that make you?"

"Better looking than you." She quipped.

"Why you little..." Tony said jokingly. He grabbed Violet around the neck, tucking her head under his arm as he gave her a noogie.

"Alright, ladies, ready to head out?" Natasha interrupted. Tony and Violet sprung apart, both smiling like children who'd been caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

"Where's Steve?" Violet asked.

Natasha's eyebrow raised almost imperceptibly. "Helping Banner with some lab equipment. He'll meet us in the garage. Why?"

"No reason." Violet's response was a little too hasty, and Tony chuckled at her attempt to fight back a blush. Then he groaned as Violet elbowed him in the ribs.

The elevator chimed and they all climbed on. "So Vi, there's a couple develpments you should be aware of." Natasha began. "Due to the change in your...ablilities, Fury wants you to try and master it. Train yourself, see how far that energy goes. You'll also have to go to Banner for weekly checkups to make sure the energy isn't causing any molecular trouble."

"I'll also be continuing my Agent training, right?"

"Of course" Natasha replied. "Just because we are moving location doesn't mean you get to slack off."

Violet smiled slightly, and they were silent were the rest of the elevator trip. The doors slid open to the parking garage. Bruce and Steve were waiting. They were all driving to the Tower in some SHIELD cars that Fury wanted Tony to keep in his garage for the time being. Violet slid her suitcase into the trunk of one of the cars. Natasha, Tony, and Bruce were in other cars, so it would just be her and Steve in one car.

"You want to drive?" Steve said, tossing her the keys.

Violet tossed them back. "I don't have a license. Even if I did, the picture wouldn't match."

They climbed into the car, Violet in the front passenger seat. Neither of them said anything as Steve started up the car. As they drove out of the garage, Violet started talking. "My Mom was going to take me. To get my licence, that is. It was going to be a birthday present. I was so excited. We had even talked about what car I would get. She wanted me to get an old Voltswagon Beatle with rubber bumpers. I told her I would be okay with the bumpers if i got a blue truck." Violet was rambling, staring out the window. The talk of driving had brought back memories. Just thinking about her Mom felt like a punch in the gut.

Steve looked at Violet worriedly. "You okay, Vi?"

She smiled sadly back at him. "I'm fine Steve. Don't worry."

He didn't believe Violet. "Look, we talk, we hang out, I try to make you as comfortable as I can. But you've never really Talked to me. I can see it, Vi, the way it eats at you. I'm not stupid, you know. I know something happened the night of your birthday. Something with your Mom. I just wish you would tell me."

Violet sighed deeply. "This isn't the right place for that conversation."

"Then tell me when we get settled into the Tower. I won't force you, I just know it's not good to keep things bottled up inside yourself."

Nothing else was said for the rest of the ride. Violet stared out the window, watching but not seeing the sights. She was lost in thoughts and memories. Steve was right, she did have a lot to say about her Mom, about everything really. But what was she supposed to say? 'Yeah Steve, I'm pissed off because I lost the only family I ever had who apparently lied to me my entire life. Oh yeah, and when I called she didn't know who I was, so I may as well be dead to her.' No, that wouldn't work.

The car pulled into a dark driveway, and Violet only noticed when Steve said "We're here." As if o

n auto-pilot, Violet exited the car and grabbed her suitcase from the trunk. There was another elevator waiting for them. The others had arrived before them, and were already on another elevator going to the residential floors. Violet was snapped out of her thoughts by an automated voice saying "Welcome, Captain Rogers. Hello, Agent Tessa. I am JARVIS. What floor should I direct you to?"

Violet's excitement returned in a rush. "Hello to you too, JARVIS. You can call me Violet. We're heading to the residential floors."

"Very good, Miss Violet. Please step into the elevators and you will be taken to the correct floor. Sir is waiting for you."

The elevator doors opened with a swish and Violet eagerly stepped inside, Steve trailing behind. Once the doors closed, they rocketed upward, and in what felt like no time at all, the doors opened again. "Floor 45, Residential Quarters." JARVIS said.

"Thanks J" Tony said, walking towards them. He spread his arms out, gesturing to the floor they were on. "So, kid, what do you think?"

Violet was dumbstruck. She walked forward a couple steps, taking in the view. In front of her was a large glass window which took up nost of the space on the wall. The city glowed in the late afternoon light, the glass and metal looking like a city of gold. The room itself had a high ceiling, brown hard-wood floors which turned to tan carpet in one corner that sported a large flatscreen TV and two black leather sofas. Another corner was taken up by a large kitchen and dining room, all of the equipment modern stainless steel. The room branched off into two hallways facing opposite directions, each leading to the bedrooms.

"Tony, it's amazing" Violet spoke in a hushed voice, amazed.

Tony grinned, pleased with her answer. "Come on, I'll show you to your rooms. Romanoff and Bruce are already settled in, and I stay on another floor with Pepper. Barton and Thor have rooms set up for them on this floor, too." Tony walked down the hallway to the right. It ended in an intersection, leading to three doors. "Vi, your room is on the left. Caps, yours is in the middle. Thor's room is on the right." Tony motioned for them to explore their rooms. Violet timidly opened her door. The door itself was a basic white, but the room was anything but basic. It was huge, much bigger than Violet had expected. The walls were a vibrant Caribbean blue, with one light purple accent wall. One of the walls had a sliding glass panel that led to a balcony with an equally amazing view of New York. Another wall was completely taken up by empty wooden bookcases and a desk with a spinny chair and laptop. Tony explained that he wanted Violet to fill them with any books she wanted. Against the purple wall was a king sized four-poster bed with white sheets piled with comforters in different shades of blue. There were two doors on either side of the room, one led to a huge walk-in closet

with a three-way mirror and small podium. The other door led to a decent sized bathroom, complete with a jacooze so wide and deep Violet could fit ten of herself into it.

"Tony, this is...this is too much." Violet insisted. She had never had anything so lavish, and she felt like she didn't deserve the kindness.

Tony smiled. "Violet, I like being able to do something nice for you. Who else am I going to be able to spoil rotten?"

Violet giggled. "You really are awesome, Tony." She threw her arms around Tony's shoulders and gave him a huge hug.

Tony hugged her back. "Maybe later in the week you and Pepper can go shopping. Get some more clothes, books, and stuff for your room. Would you like that?" Violet nodded vigorously and Tony laughed. "Okay, you get settled in, and I'll see you and Caps at dinner when you're ready."

Violet smiled at Tony's retreating form. She was so lucky to have him as a friend. Once he was out of sight, Violet went back into her room and unpacked quickly. She stowed her clothes in the closet and bureau, then she headed to Steve's room. Violet wanted to talk to him before they went to dinner. Violet knocked one the door. "Steve? Can I come in?" There was no reponse from inside, but Violet opened the door anyway. The room was similar to hers, but the color theme was red, white, and blue, and where a desk was in her room, there was a set of weight lifting equipment. Walking in, Violet closed the door quietly behind her. "Steve?" She called.

"Just a moment." Came the reply from the bathroom. Violet sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting for Steve. When he stepped out of the bathroom, Violet felt a blush rise in her face and her jaw drop. Steve had obviously taken the opportunity to take a quick shower. His hair was wet and flopped in his face, and he was wearing only a towel, slung low on his hips. Steve's chest was bare, and more muscled than Violet had thought. She had thought about seeing him shirtless before, but it was nothing like seeing him in person. Steve seemed to be one solid muscle, his chest rippled with well defined abs and pectorals, and his biceps seemed even larger than normal. Violet quickly realised she had been staring, and quickly snapped her eyes and mouth closed.

Steve was blushing under her scrutiny. "V..Violet, what are you doing in my room?"

Violet had to keep from giggling at his shy stammer. "I wanted to talk to you before dinner. I didn't realise you were in the shower. Sorry for intruding." She felt her blush deepen.

Violet could hear Steve chuckle nervously. "It's okay. Just let me get dressed and we'll talk. Keep your eyes closed!" He warned, and Violet smiled slightly. She heard a door open, the sound of a towel hitting the floor, and a rustling of clothes. A couple minutes later, Steve said "You can open your eyes now." Violet's eyes opened. Steve was standing in front of her, wearing a pair of jeans that looked way too good on him and a short-sleeve blue t-shirt.

Violet shook her head slightly, trying to get rid of her thoughts of how good Steve looked. She shouldn't think of him like that, he was her friend and it would just make him uncomfortable to know how she felt.

"So, what do you need to talk to me about?" Steve asked.

Violet sighed. "You asked me in the car what h

appened...with my Mom."

Steve sat on the bed next to her, his expression serious. "Are you sure you're ready to talk about it? I don't want to make you do anything you're not okay with."

She shook her head. "I don't know if I'll ever really be okay with it, but you deserve to know." Violet took a deep breath. "I called her, the night of my birthday. She answered. I told you that we talked and everything was okay."Violet paused. Tears were pricking her eyes at the memory. "I lied. When she answered, I was so happy. I missed her so much. I still do. But she didn't recognize my voice. She didn't believe that it was me. The transformation affected my voice, and before I could say anything to convince her that it was really me, she hung up." Tears were now flowing freely from her eyes. "It was worse than knowing I can't ever go home. Even if I found my way home, she wouldn't know me. I've changed too much. I'm really alone now." Violet stopped talking, choking on her sobs. Not knowing what else to do, Steve put an arm around Violet's waist, pulling her to him. She grabbed onto his shirt, face pressed into his chest.

Steve rubbed a hand over her back, trying to comfort Violet. "You're not alone Violet. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I've got you."


	15. Training

**AN: Sorry for not updating in awhile. Writer's block is a bleep. Oh, and for this chapter I am skipping over dinner because, well, nothing really important happened. **

**Disclaimer: Only Violet and the plot are mine. The rest belongs to Marvel.**

Violet awoke the next morning, momentarily disoriented by the new surroundings. As the events of yesterday surfaced in her muddled brain, she let out a groan and slammed her head into the pillow. Pulling the covers tighter around herself, Violet tried to go back to sleep, not ready to face the day. While she had the body of an adult, her sleeping pattern and desire to get out of bed remained that of a teenager. the comfortable silence was broken by a too chipper voice.

"Time to get up, Vi. You've got training with Romanoff in thirty minutes." Tony said, not bothering to knock on the door before entering.

"Still asleep. Come back later." Violet mumbled. She tucked her head under the covers, forming a warm cocoon.

"Come on, kid. Get up on your own, or I will have to take drastic measures. Romanoff wants you up, and I don't feel like getting chewed out this morning for not being able to wake up a teen."

"No." Violet said. She didn't see Tony smile devilishly.

"Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you. " With that, Tony left. Violet paid no mind to his warning, too happy for the silence again. A couple minutes later, Tony came back.

"Last chance to get out of bed."

"No."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Suddenly, Violet felt her warm covers ripped away, and a bucket of freezing ice water drenched her body. She screamed in horror. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Tony ran out of the room, laughing. Violet climbed out of bed, hot on his heels. She ran into the living room, to the surprise of the other Avengers. "Where is he?!" Violet demanded, since Tony was nowhere in sight.

"Um, Vi, you might want to change before you kill Tony." Bruce said. Violet glanced down at her clothes, and felt a blush rise in her cheeks. She had worn a sheer white camisole and shorts to bed, and they were soaked through, not leaving much to the imagination. Horrified, Violet ran out of the room, anger lost in her embarrassment. She ran down the hallway and slammed the door shut. Quickly peeling off the wet pajamas, Violet slipped into new underclothes and a pair of gray yoga pants with a blue sports bra and tank top. Tying her hair back in a ponytail, she slunk back into the kitchen. Everyone stared, assessing her mood.

"So where's Tony?" Violet questioned calmly.

Tony poked his head out from behind the couch, laughing. "Are you still going to kill me?"

Violet smiled sweetly. "No, Tony, I'm not going to kill you. Just remember this, because you just declared a prank war on me. And believe me, I will win."

"Bring it, kid." Tony smiled, a little unnerved by Violet's sudden mood change.

Violet grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit on the counter. "So, what's the plan, Nat?"

Natasha looked up from the computer in her lap. "Well, we're going to start with some basic hand to hand exercises, followed by target practice. Then we're going to see what exactly you can do with that blue energy. Steve will be assisting throughout. Oh, by the way, Clint and Thor should arrive tonight."

Violet felt her stomach twist. She had known that she would see Thor soon, but not so soon. What if he hated her? What if he thought she was an abomination? She had never had a father figure before.

"You okay, Vi? You look a little pale." Steve asked.

Violet pushed aside her nerves. "Yeah, I'm fine. So when do we start?"

"Right now" Natasha said. She stood, followed by Violet and Steve. She entered the elevator, instructing Jarvis to get them to the training floor. When the doors opened again, there was a gym-like area in front of them. It looked almost exactly like the gym at SHIELD headquarters, except without the high ceiling.

Natasha jumped into the boxing ring. "Let's begin."

They sparred for hours, Natasha and Steve occasionally swapping out. Violet won some matches against Steve, but only because he was going easy on her. Natasha didn't hold back, and she won all of their matches. They practiced with swords and knives, Violet's preferred weapons. At one point during the training, Natasha stepped into the target range, wearing a bullet-proof vest, and told Violet to throw the knives at her. Violet didn't manage to land one, and she had to do laps around the gym. When Violet felt like she couldn't move another muscle, Natasha declared a break. They got water and some granola, then sat down for a short while. They discussed the tower, Clint coming back, the events at S.H.I.E.L.D, and how to get back at Tony. By the time the break was over, Violet was in much better spirits and ready to go again. However, Natasha put away the weapons and dragged a rubber mat into the center of the room. She instructed Violet to sit in the center.

"You're going to see if you can access Tesseract energy on command. The mat is so that the electricity will be somewhat contained and hopefully not electrocute anyone." Natasha explained. Violet nodded, doing as Natasha told her. She felt kind of silly, just sitting with no idea what to do. Natasha sighed. "How did you cause the energy before?"

"It was unintentional. I was in shock over...well you know."

Natasha considered this for a moment. "See if you can concentrate the energy in your hand. Focus on how you felt in that moment. Emotion is probably the key to unlocking your power."

Violet closed her eyes, dredging up the memory of the fight. She flinched when she remembered the snap of the man's neck, the blank look in his eyes as his body fell to the ground. Violet felt sadness, regret, but when she opened her eyes, there was no blue aura. She looked at Natasha, lost.

Natasha sighed. "You're not trying hard enough. Try again."

"Nat, I'm trying as hard as I can, it's just not working. I don't know how to do this." Violet argued.

"No, it's not working because you're holding back. Try again!" Natasha insisted.

Violet felt rage building inside her. "I am trying, so stop telling me I'm not! you think I want to relive that?! This isn't fun for me either!" Violet shrieked.

Natasha smiled. "Violet, look down."

Violet looked, and she was shocked. Her hands were glowing with an eerie blue fire. "How'd I do that?"

"Rage and grief. Two strong triggers for the energy. Shall we continue?"

**Bleep, this chapter has been a looong time coming. Sorry :( Next chapter, Violet meets Thor and something affects Violet's relationship with Steve.**


	16. Family and Fathers

**AN: Here it is, the chapter you've been waiting for! -dramatic music- **

**Bleep, over three months late. My sincerest apologies, but I wanted this chapter in particular to be perfect.**

**Oh, random fact. I have officially been working on this story for over a year.**

**Disclaimer: Violet and random OCs are mine, as well as the plot. All else is not.**

Violet stared at the ceiling, thinking about the strange shapes she could find. The black dots on the edge of her vision helped form the symbols. The mat felt strange beneath her sweat-soaked shirt. Violet's chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. After four hours of practicing with the blue energy, Violet was physically and emotionally drained, and more than ready for a nap. She had succeeded in being able to bring up the energy for a moment, but couldn't hold it in place for long. She also couldn't project the energy beyond her own body. It was frustrating, not being able to control something yet again. Warm blue eyes entered her field of vision.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked teasingly. Violet only groaned in response.

Natasha walked in with a glass of water and painkillers. "Take these, then go get cleaned up. You have three hours until Thor and Clint get back here, so be ready by 1600 hours."

Violet quickly swallowed the pills and chugged down the water. Feeling slightly refreshed, she rose unsteadily to her feet. "What should I wear for tonight?"

"Something nice. You'll want to look good when you meet the man who's technically you father, right?." Natasha advised.

"Want some help to your room? I'm heading that way, and you look ready to drop." Steve offered.

Violet nodded, lost in thought. "Thanks. I'd appreciate that." She sent Steve a slight smile.

Steve held out his arm to Violet. "Shall we, milady?" He grinned. Violet giggled, looping her arm through his.

They boarded the elevator, a comfortable silence between them on the ride up. Violet pondered what would happen in three hours. How would Thor react to having a daughter? Violet had never had a father figure, so she wanted this evening to go well, and for Thor to be pleased with her. Though it wasn't by consent that he was related to her, Violet didn't want Thor to hate her.

As soon as they reached Violet's room, Steve turned to her. The look in Steve's eyes worried Violet, and she withdrew her arm. "Violet, I need to tell you something. I feel like I have been unfair to you for not having told you sooner." Violet felt her stomach twist, not sure where this was going. "Firstly, I want you to know that I value your friendship greatly, no matter what your response is to what I have to say." Steve paused a moment, seeing weighed down by his words. "While I pretended otherwise at the time, I remember everything that happened the day of your birthday. I remember how we arrived, how happy you were when you talked to your Mom." Violet felt sick when he said this, guilt eating at her for the lie. "But most of all, I remember you kissing me." Steve took a step closer to Violet. "Vi, I am not sure if you meant anything by that kiss, or if it was merely an impulse, but it meant the world to me. I care about you deeply, Violet." There was another long pause. "However, side by side with that affection is the confusion. Just as I remember the kiss, I remember that it was you_ who knocked me out. _Then, you lied to me. Has my friendship meant so little to you that you would lie to my face?" With every word, Steve seemed to grow more frustrated and enraged. "Violet, despite what you hoped, I am not stupid. Did you think I would realize it was a strange coincidence that as soon as you left, S.H.I.E.L.D experienced troubles? Tony and Bruce approached me about their concerns, how you warned them to stay in, when I released them from being trapped in the lab. Playing music was a nice touch." Steve was pacing, red-faced. Stopping in front of her, breathing heavily, he said his last confession. "But I don't care about any of that because Violet, I love you."

Placing a hand on Violet's hip, Steve drew her close. Tucking his arm around her waist and burrowing his other hand in her hair, Steve leaned forward slowly, waiting for any reaction from Violet. Her only response was to close her eyes and lift her face towards his. Steve brushed his lips gently across hers, barely a kiss but enough. It was more than enough for Violet, who felt her heart swell. Steve pulled back before either of them got lost in the kiss, brushing his lips against her cheek. Violet looked into his eyes, her own filled with love and remorse. "Steve, I'm so sorry..." she began, but Steve silenced her with a kiss on the forehead.

"Violet, you don't have to answer me now, I've given you a lot to think about for today. Especially considering the arrival of a certain Asgardian tonight, Just think on this for a time. Will you be my best girl?"

Violet nodded. "I'll think about it."

"Then that's enough for now." Steve planted a small kiss on her hand, then headed into his own room, while Violet practically floated into hers. A grin plastered on her face, Violet got into the shower, pulling off her dirty training clothes. After scrubbing off any scent of sweat or plastic, Violet turned off the water, towel-drying her hair as she entered the closet. The outfit would have to be nice, so she immediately discarded the idea of jeans. Rummaging through her skirts and dresses, Violet pulled out a handful of options. She also grabbed a couple cardigans and several nice shirts. She laid each outfit on her bed. Of the skirts, there was a long black, a bright knee-length red with a tulle underskirt, and a green calf-length skirt with a flower pattern. Not loving any of them, Violet tossed them to the side. A flash of blue caught he attention. Pulling it out from the pile, Violet held up a black dress with a bright blue sash. The dress was made of a stiff fabric, but was curve hugging. It fell to just above knee height with a thin layer of blue edged tulle and another strand of blue framing the bodice. The color of the sash reminded Violet of the energy she had spent all afternoon training with.

Slipping on the dress, Violet was pleased to find that it complimented her form without being overly showy. The bodice was a scoop-neck, but barely showed any of Violet's chest. It had two straps that crossed in the back, leaving her arms bare and unhindered. Slipping on a pair f black flats, Violet headed to her bathroom to apply the finishing touches. Her hair was mostly dry, but Violet ran a comb through it to get rid of any tangles. She braided the front of her hair on each side, bringing it back so the braids interlocked, forming a wreath of hair around her head. Digging out eye shadow, eye liner, and mascara, Violet created a smoky eye with tinges of silver around the edges. Combined with lining her eyes subtly in black and lengthening her lashes with mascara, her eyes practically glowed green. After brushing her teeth, Violet applied a bright red lipstick. All together, her look was striking and beautiful, but not in an overpowering way.

The finishing touch was clipping her locket on. The familiar weight around her neck gave Violet comfort in her haze of nervousness. Stepping out of her room, she took a deep breath to calm herself. The doorknob on Steve's room rattled, and out stepped the man himself. Steve was wearing a pair of black slacks with a light purple button down shirt. "You clean up nice, Captain." Violet said, smiling. The sight of Steve in a nice outfit set her heart racing.

"Thanks, Violet. You look...really good." Steve said, a light blush coloring his cheeks. Violet felt a blush creeping up on her cheeks too, giving her a strong cherry-like pigment.

The air between them turned awkward, and Steve turned to head down the hallway. "Steve?" Violet called after him. Steve turned, curious. "I've been thinking about what you said earlier." Steve's expression became expectant and nervous. "I know you told me to think it over and to take time but I already have. I have an answer." Violet paused for a moment, nervous. "My answer is yes, I'll be your girl."

A huge grin broke over Steve's face. It was contagious, and Violet smiled back. Steve rushed to her side, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you, Vi. You have no idea what this means to me."

"It means just as much to me. I love you too, Steve." Violet responded, smiling. Then, a frown clouded her face. "Steve, you said something earlier, and I feel terrible for not being honest with you either." Steve started to speak, but Violet held up her hand. "Wait, let me finish. I don't regret what I did, only what happened because of it. I never intended for anyone to get hurt, only for Fury to pay. I know that what he did saved my life, but he took away the only family I have ever known. I did talk to my Mom on my birthday, but she didn't know who I was. My voice changed because of the procedure, and she didn't believe me when I tried to tell her I was her daughter. Even if I managed to find her, she wouldn't know who I am. I've changed too much." Violet held back the tears in her eyes. Her hand clutched the locket, the metal digging into her palm.

Steve reached out and gently took her hand away from her locket, holding her hand in his. "I am truly sorry for what happened with your mother. I wish there was something I could do to take away the pain. But Violet, don't you see? We're you're family too." He gestured to where the other Avengers stood, having appeared silently at the end of the hall. Natasha was the first to make a move.

"Violet, we all care about you. We may not be able to replace what you lost, but we will all be here for you." Then, Natasha wrapped Violet into a warm hug.

"You're one of us, kid." Tony said. Bruce nodded in agreement.

Violet pulled away from the hug, wiping her eyes. "Thank you. All of you." It was all she could see, but everyone understood.

"So, does this mean you two are an item?" Tony said. Violet blushed and Steve groaned.

"Way to ruin a moment, Stark." Steve retorted.

Tony smiled at the blush on Violet's cheeks and Steve's obvious discomfort. "I'll take that as a yes. Pay up, Banner."

"You bet on us?" Violet questioned.

"Yeah." Tony said, nonchalantly. Bruce reached into his pocket and pressed a twenty dollar bill into Tony's hand.

"It's not like you need the ego boost, Stark." Natasha said. Everyone chuckled.

"Come on. Let's get this shindig on the road." Everyone followed Tony into the living room. Violet's eyes widened and her mouth gaped open. While she had been getting ready, the living room had been ccompletely transformed. The furniture was all pushed to the sides, widening the floor space. White lights and paper mache flowers were strung along the walls and ceiling. Tables were laid out with an assortment of food and drink, some of which Violet had never seen before. Soft music played from the overhead speakers, giving the room a relaxed and intimate feeling.

"It's wonderful, Tony." Violet said, her voice wonderstruck. Tony grinned at the compliment.

"It will be even better when our missing guests arrive." Violet's stomach clenched at the reminder. Any moment, her biological father would be arriving. Sensing her nervousness, Natasha placed a hand on Violet's shoulder.

"He'll love you, Vi, just as we all do." Knowing she had the support of her new family gave Violet courage.

A flash of rainbow light illuminated the balcony. At the same time, the elevator chimed and the doors slid open, revealing Clint.

"Clint!" Violet exclaimed, running to him.

Laughing, Clint dropped his bags and scooped Violet into a huge hug. "Great to see you too, Vi." There was a genuine smile on his face, matching Violet's.

"Welcome back." Natasha said, walking calmly over. Violet felt her cheeks flame with embarrassment at how she had reacted. Natasha shook Clint's hand, then turned to Violet.

"We're all happy he's back, Vi. Don't be embarassed." Sometimes Violet was sure Natasha could read her mind.

Thunder sounded outside, followed by a metallic clunk on the landing pad. Clint shot Violet a knowing look. "I haven't told him anything about you. Figured it would be better for you to tell him yourself."

Violet nodded, not trusting her voice. Steve laid a hand on her shoulder. "He'll love you, Vi. It'll be great."

The door slid open, and a man entered from the outside. A long red cape swirled behind the tall figure. He was bulky and muscular, metal armor clinging to well-defined muscles. His hair was shoulder length and blonde, the same shade as Violet's. His skin was tan and his eyes were sky blue, unlike Violet's bright green, for which she was slightly grateful. His over-all countenance bore a strong similarity to Violet, and it was not hard to see they were related. This man was obviously Thor, Violet's father.

"My friends!" Thor bellowed, reaching out his arms to embrace the other Avengers.

"Welcome back, Thor." Tony said, grasping forearms with Thor.

"Thank you, friend Stark. I was summoned by friend Barton. He said there was something on Midgard that require my attention."

"Not something, Thor. Someone." With that Tony stepped back. Steve and Natasha had been standing in front of Violet, shielding her from Thor's view. When Tony said this, they both stepped to the side, revealing Violet. She took a few timid steps forward. Thor eyes lost their jovial twinkle, his brow furrowing in an expression of confusion.

"Who is this?" he asked, his eyes taking in the similarities in Violet's appearance to himself.

"My name is Violet Unari. I'm your daughter." Violet tried to make her voice sound strong and confident, but there was a slight, almost imperceptible quiver.

Thor took a step back, wary. "This cannot be true. Lady Jane and I have not...and there is no on else...you must be mistaken."

Tony took this moment to clap his hands together loudly, once again brining all attention to himself. "I think it's time for drinks and a little story."

**-five hours later-**

"...and she was so dizzy afterward that we had to wait a full hour before she could move again." Violet finished, and Thor laughed loudly. He had asked about the pictures in Violet's locket, and she told him the story of the bumper cars. They had spent last few hours trading stories. Violet had explained about the testing, the genetic bonding, and the progression of her powers.

Thor had taken all of this in stride, saying "I know little of the workings of the tesseract's magic. My brother would be able to tell you more, but he is currently imprisoned on Asgard." He told her wonderful stories of Asgard, describing the beauty of the golden city.

"I wish I could visit. It sounds so lovely." Violet said, enraptured.

"Perhaps one day, Lady Violet." Thor also told Violet of his friends on Asgard, Sif and the Warriors Three. He described their adventures, boasting of all their triumphs. Violet laughed at some her father's sillier stories. She had truly begun to think of Thor as her father. Before he had been just an idea, but now that he was in front of her, it meant so much to Violet to finally have a father figure. Thor seemed to grow more comfortable with the idea of Violet being his daughter. At first he had been skeptical, but upon hearing her story, he began to truly accept that she was half of his genes.

"I am sorry for the wrongs that were done to you, Lady Violet. I promise I will try to be a good father for you." Thor vowed.

Violet smiled and thanked him, heart swelling with happiness. "You have no idea what this means to me. I was so worried you would think I was some kind of freak and want nothing to do with me."

"I will admit the situation is unusual. There are those on Asgard that may not accept you, however, as my daughter, you are a princess of Asgard and shall be treated as such."

"I had not thought of that." Violet mused. 'Princess Violet.' The thought was strange and abstract.

Steve same over to where Thor and Violet were seated at the bar. "What did I tell you, Vi. You had nothing to be afraid of." He planted a kiss on her cheek, and Violet blushed.

"Alright, you told me so." She smiled at Steve, truly happy.

Thor frowned, scrutinizing the two. "Sir Steve, are you involved with Lady Violet."

Steve looked at Violet, then back at Thor. "We have admitted a mutual attraction for each other, yes. Is that a problem?"

"It is, actually. As a princess of Asgard, my daughter's partner shall be chosen for her. Even though she is in all technicality adopted, she is still royalty. I'm afraid that I cannot allow any attachment between you two."


	17. This is not a chapter

Author's Note:

My dear readers, please try to express the urge to smack me upside the head with a baseball bat at this message. I know you were expecting a chapter, as it has been more months than I care to count since I updated this story. However, I must be clear on a couple points. I am severely unhappy with how this story has turned out so far. It has been declining for awhile now, which I will not stand for. Therefore, I will be going back through. The basic plotline will remain the same, but I will be making changes. You may expect the first of these stories in a week and no more. Again, my most sincere apologies. Thank you for your continued support. Violet and I are most grateful.

-Fictionlover

P.S- Violet wishes to state that she will expect feedback about the changes to her story. Pretty please.


	18. Test Subject Alpha: Re-done

**So, here is the new chapter, finally. It took forever for me to finally be happy enough to post it. I will be removing all of the old chapters soon and replacing them as I go along, unless you think I should keep the old story and put the new one under a different name. Please message me with your opinions. **

**Disclaimer: Only Violet is mine. Everything else is the property of Marvel. **

Violet felt her cheek meet the hard plastic of the gym floor. A hot breath of air ghosted over her face from her attacker. Violet thrashed, trying to find a way from underneath their bulk, but the hold was too strong. She felt a knee press down on her back as hands began to slide toward her throat. Violet wriggled more, desperate to escape before the hands reached her neck. As she felt hands close over her throat, she realized it was hopeless. She had already lost. Violet closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable.

"And that, class, is why you should never let your attacker get behind you. As soon as you cannot see them, they have the upper hand." Clint explained, removing his weight from Violet's back. He held out a hand to help her up, and Violet graciously accepted. Regaining her balance, Violet dusted off her uniform. Clint always got the better of her in their sparring matches. Though he was her instructor, it still hurt Violet's pride that she had yet to beat him. Two years of training, and though she was top of her class, Violet still needed to improve herself.

"Better luck next time, Vi. Go get washed up and we'll get to work on target practice." Clint turned to the rest of the trainees and began to instruct them on the next lesson. Violet had already heard it, so she obeyed and went to go put on a clean uniform. Jogging to the locker room, the 28 year old pulled out a clean dark blue uniform from her grey steel locker and grabbed a towel. It wouldn't hurt to rinse off under some warm water to remove the worst of the sweat. Violet's nose crinkled in disdain at her unadorned locker. Though she had wanted to decorate it for years, the Boss had insisted that it remain the standard S.H.I.E.L.D grey, like the rest of the dull steel and stone locker room.

Stripping off her sweat drenched uniform, Violet took a moment to reflect on the strength in her body. After five years of being at S.H.I.E.L.D, four of which she spent improving her body, two in formal training, she was at her physical peak. Violet's stomach rippled with muscles, her arms and legs were well muscled by not obscenely so. The training had also done wonders for her stature an form, giving her perfect balance and posture, and her figure was a lovely hourglass shape. Tugging her hair into a messy bun, Violet played with one of the loose brown strands. Her features were very striking. Pale, unblemished skin with striking green eyes that seemed to glow. Her hair was strange, being blonde with brown streaks, but Violet loved her hair. She had learned to love every part of this body, though she had at first. Cutting off that train of thought, Violet stepped into a shower stall and turned on warm water.

After a quick shower, Violet slipped into the clean uniform and towel-dried her hair, lost in thought. She didn't hear the footsteps approaching her from behind, only noticing when a pair of strong arms encircled her slim waist. If it had been anyone else, Violet would have fought back ferociously, but she knew who's arms these were and allowed them to pull her against a broad chest. Violet sighed contentedly. "You know you shouldn't distract me while I'm getting ready for training." Violet chastised lightly, her words more teasing than admonishing.

A deep chuckle rumbled through the man behind her. "You're not training at this moment, and I missed you. I wanted to see how you're doing." the man said.

Violet turned to the face the handsome figure of her best friend and partner, Steve Rogers. Her face split into a grin as she looked into his deep blue eyes. "While I appreciate the sentiment, why wouldn't I be okay?"

Steve's smile dimmed slightly and his gaze turned serious. "You know very well why. Don't tell me you don't remember."

"Of course I do." Violet said, scowling.

"It's been years, Vi, and we still don't talk about it." He prodded, trying to extract any bit of information. Of all the things they shared, her regard towards this day was not one of them. Any time he tried to bring it up, Violet quickly shut him down.

"You already know, Steve. Do I really need to say it aloud?"

"Yes." He was insistent. Violet released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Sitting down heavily on a nearby bench, she rested her head in her hands. Steve sat down slowly next to her. "Holding this stuff in isn't healthy, Vi. Talk to me." Steve put an arm around her waist, and Violet curled into his side. Her mind was lost in a sea of memories.

"It's been five years, Steve. I just want to put it behind me. There's nothing that can be done now." Violet defended, trying to hold herself together. However, Steve knew how to get her to crack, and after five years of pent up rage, frustration, and despair, under Steve's careful scrutiny and unyielding support, she cracked.

"What do you want to hear?" Violet asked, her voice tinged in sadness.

"Anything feel alright telling me."

Violet paused a moment, collecting her thoughts. "You already know the beginning, you were there after all, but that's where I'll start."

* * *

_Four years ago_

_Violet, fifteen years old, raced home to meet her Mother after an exciting day at school. Clutching a handful of papers to her chest, Violet threw open the door to their small two-story house. Carefully stepping over the sleeping bodies of her two dogs, Rusty and Max, she scampered into the kitchen. "Mom, you'll never guess what we did in school today!" Violet began, but her voice trailed off at he sight before her. There was her mom, Leeanne Unari, a familiar face to Violet. Her pale skin and brown hair matched Violet's. She wore glasses over her hazel eyes, more grey unlike Violet's green. She was shorter than Violet, who stood at a daunting 5'10, but had always been a source of comfort. Not this time. Two strange men stood in the kitchen, flanking her mother to the left and right. Though she appeared calm and stoic, Leeanne's eyes were bright red and puffy, evidence that she had been crying._

_"Violet Unari." One man said, stepping from behind her Mother. "We are here to escort you." _

_"Escort me where? Mom, what is this?" Violet demanded, frightened and confused. _

_Leeanne only raised her head slightly and said faintly "My beautiful Violet, I am so sorry. No matter what, I love you." _

_"Mom, what are you talking about? Mom? MOM?!" Violet shrieked as the two men, without warning, grabbed her arms and began to lead her away. Struggling the whole way, Violet saw a black SUV waiting at the bottom of the driveway. Fear shot adrenaline into Violet's heart. Kicking one man in the shin, she ripped her arm from the grip of the other and began to run towards the woods that flanked her house. Just before she reached the tree line, Violet felt a shooting pain in her legs, causing her to topple over. Instantly, the men were upon her. _

_"Thank you, Captain. She almost got away from us." A pinch of pain joined the throbbing in her legs, and Violet caught a glimpse of a red, white, and blue shield on another man's back before the knock out drug took hold._

* * *

_Waking up slowly, Violet clenched her eyes shut as her vision was flooded with bright white light. Groaning in pain, Violet sat up stiffly, her sleep addled brain taking note of her surroundings. She was in a small padded white cell, the doorway barred by a thick metal door with a sliding grate for outside viewing. A grey metal table and chairs stood in the middle of the room. The lights above were like those in Violet's school, bright fluorescent that made everything look artificial. Reaching for her bag, Violet realized that they had taken it, whoever they were. And who was that oddly colored man? Violet hadn't gotten a good look at him before she passed out. _

_Pressing her back into a corner of the cell, Violet began looking for a way out, fighting the panic rising inside her. The room was so quiet and still she could hear her own labored breathing. The silence was broken by the screech of metal on metal a someone slid the grate open. Someone peered inside at Violet, and she could hear indecipherable muttering from outside. Just as quickly as it open, the grated closed. The door let out a slight hissing sound as it opened; someone was coming in. _

_Violet kept her eyes locked on the door, observing the figures who came in. There were two men, both menacing. The first man was dark skinned and bald, with a black eye patch covering one eye. He wore a black trench coat that swept the floor, black combat boots, cargo pants, and turtleneck. There was a gun strapped to his hip, though Violet had the impression he wouldn't need to shoot her to kill her. The other man had tan skin, and very muscular arms. He too wore black cargo pants and boots, but with a black vest-like top that exposed his shoulders. He had dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. Though he carried no weapons, Violet felt the same fear of him that she did for the first man._

_"Sit." The first man said. He took a chair on one side of the table and gestures for Violet to take the other. The second man leaned against a wall clost to the door, cutting off any thoughts Violet might have had of trying to run. _

_"I'm fine here." Violet said, not moving from her corner. She saw the second man push off the wall and stride towards her. Not wanting to be manhandled into a chair, Violet obediently moved into the other seat. _

_"I'm assuming you have a few questions." Eyepatch man stated._

_Violet snorted. "Yeah, a but more than a few. Like why the hell I'm here would be a good place to start." She fought down any sort of attitude or a emotion, not wanting to show any weakness to these men._

_"I am Director Fury, this is Agent Barton." The first man said, indicating himself and the other man in turn. "You are Violet Unari."_

_"No, that's not me. So if you'll excuse me, i'll be on my way." Violet said sarcastically. She began to rise from her seat, but Agent Barton moved behind her and shoved her back into the chair. Violet rubbed her shoulders in irritation. "Hell of a grip you got there, Barton."_

_"Agent Barton." He snapped._

_"Don't care." was Violet's singsong reply._

_"Miss Unari, I suggest you take this seriously." Shrugging, Violet turned back to Director Fury. "To answer, you're question, you are here because we own you now."_

_"I'm sorry, what? You don't own me, Eyepatch. News flash, slavery was outlawed on the 14th Amendment."_

_"What the Director means to say is that you are now under the guardianship of S.H.I.E.L.D, Miss Unari." Barton intervened. _

_"That's not possible. I don't have a father, so you can't have fought for custody, and my Mom is my legal guardian. There must be some mistake, or were you dropped on your head as a child?" Violet queried, sarcasm masking her confusion and fear.  
_

_"Miss Unari, fifteen years ago, when you were an infant, your Mother was in dire financial straights. Unable to support you, the state was prepared to remove you from her care and place you with another family that could care for you properly. Your mother allowed S.H.I.E.L.D to perform a series of experiments on you, in exchange for a hefty sum and the agreement that legal custody of you would belong to S.H.I.E.L.D once the results began to show, which was a span of fifteen years. You are now the legal ward of this organization."_

_Violet's head began to spin with the information Director Fury had given her. 'They have to be lying, they must be lying.' Violet thought. Then she remembered the broken look on her Mom's face, the way she hadn't even tried to fight for her. Her mother wouldn't just abandon her. "Unless she didn't have a choice." Violet murmered the last part aloud._

_Agent Barton nodded. "She decided that fifteen years with you was better then no time at all."_

_"So she sold me." Violet felt a seed of bitterness creep into her heart. There had to have another way. "What happens to me now? I get locked up in a lab to be poked and prodded for the rest of my days? What was the experiment anyway?"_

_"We are not at liberty to discuss the nature of the experiment, merely that it was called Project Bind. Some time in a lab will be part of your new routine, yes, but S.H.I.E.L.D has no intention to make this any more difficult then it has to be. You will continue your studies here, was well as a few mandatory S.H.I.E.L.D classes, and will be entered into the Agent training program. Despite this unfortunate beginning, we hope you will come to think of this as home." Director Fury signaled Agent Barton, who tapped on the door which opened automatically. He stepped outside and disappeared from sight. "However, we cannot trust you to not act out or comply accordingly on our own, so we have assigned someone to make sure you follow the rules and do as you're told."_

_ "You mean a babysitter." Violet stated bluntly, and Director Fury did not correct her. The door slid open again, and Agent Barton re-entered, followed by a new man. The new man was tall, muscular, with sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore tan khakis and a white t-shirt that clung like a second skin to his form. Violet was beginning to feel very feeble and underdressed, wearing jeans and a dark grey sweatshirt. _

_"This is Captain Rogers. He will be your escort around the facility." Director Fury indicated the new man. Captain Rogers said nothing, merely inclining his head towards Violet in a way of greeting. Violet saw that his jaw was clenched, lips pressed together in a thin line. He didn't want to be a part of this any more than Violet did._

_"Captain, huh? So they dragged you out to look after little ol' me. I suppose should feel flattered." Violet wasn't going to let her new babysitter have it easy. If she was going to be miserable, those around her should share in it._

_"This way." Captain Rogers said, indicating for Violet to follow him._

_"What if I'm comfy here?" Violet asked. Captain Rogers moved towards her, probably to move her along like Agent Barton had earlier, so Violet moved. "Alright, I'm coming." She followed after Captain Rogers, Agent Barton following behind the pair. "Guess you really think I'm that dumb." Violet muttered. She knew she couldn't try to escape while she was being followed by two very tough looking men. Hell, she couldn't escape being followed by one. Violet was not a fighter, and these men were clearly battle-prepped and ready. She would have to wait till she was alone. _

_Captain Rogers led her through blank white hallways. Violet wished she had a paintball gun just to liven up the place. "Whoever designed this place must have hated color." No response from other man. She continued commenting on the horrible décor as she was led past dozens of doors and other hallways that branched off the one she was in. There wasn't a single window to be seen, so Violet assumed either there weren't any, or she was underground. "I'm just going to say this now, if we're underground, I won't be able to sleep. I have a fear of being buried alive." She didn't, but knowing the location of a window might help her escape plan._

_"You're not afraid of being buried alive." Rogers spoke for the first time._

_Violet raised one eyebrow in a look of suspicion. "What makes you say that?" _

_"I read your file. Violet Marie Unari, age fifteen, birthday August 6. Height five ten, brown hair, hazel eyes. Favorite color blue, afraid of spiders, clowns, and marionettes. Should I continue?" Rogers rattled off. Violet felt her blood beginning to boil in anger. "A file doesn't mean anything." she spat. "Here's what you should add in. Kidnapped at the age of 15, illegally experimented on as a child, held hostage by an unknown agency, and taken away from everything that she knows and loves." Nothing seemed to faze the Captain, so Violet shut up, barely containing her anger. The trio finally reached a door, not any different then the others they had passed. _

_"The door can only be opened from the outside, so will escort you to and from your room." The door slid open as Rogers entered a code. "I hope you will find the room to your liking. There is a bathroom and shower in there" he pointed to a door inside the room "and you will be escorted to and from the cafeteria for your meals."_

_"Trading one cell for another, real welcoming." Violet didn't bother examining the room, just entered the doorway and turned to the two men. "You can leave now. The Director probably wants his lap dogs back for the night." It wasn't much. but Violet felt the need to hurt them. _

_"We will be stationed outside your door for the night in case you need anything." Not able to take his cool detachment any longer, Violet stomped up to Rogers and slapped as hard as she could._

_"What I need is to go home, bastard!" She screamed, then stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her, locking it securely. Only when she heard the sound of the main door closing did Violet let herself sink down to the floor and burst into tears and sobs._


End file.
